Circuit City Boosts Consumer Education for Digital Television Transition with New Staff Training, Additional Information Resources in Stores and Online

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on its longstanding commitment to provide consumers with vital information about the technologies that affect their daily lives, consumer electronics retailer Circuit City Stores, Inc. today announced it will enhance its already robust efforts to help ensure that American television viewers are aware of the upcoming Digital Television (DTV) Transition. "TV is our most important business," said Philip J. Schoonover, Circuit City's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We know the DTV Transition will affect millions of homes that rely on over-the-air reception and we are ready to do our part, along with manufacturers, broadcasters and regulators, to inform and educate the public about this important technology advance." U.S. television stations will cease transmitting analog signals on February 17, 2009, meaning that consumers with older sets with analog-only tuners who rely on over-the-air signals will need to take steps in order to be able to watch TV. TVs connected to satellite or cable providers will not be immediately affected by the DTV Transition. The switch to digital TV not only will free up parts of the broadcast spectrum for emergency services, the new signals also bring major improvements in video and audio quality. "We've been helping to guide consumers about TV and other technologies from the very beginning of our business in 1949," said Schoonover. "Circuit City has played a key role in helping to advance educational initiatives through the Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC). As strong as our current program is, we recognize that the DTV Transition will represent a revolutionary change for many Americans, so we're moving ahead with plans that we have been developing to intensify our activities to help in an industry- wide educational effort." Some of the following steps already are in process at Circuit City; some will be phased in during the coming months: -- Provide additional educational pamphlets related to the DTV Transition in its stores nationwide -- Include DTV Transition advisory information in its advertising supplements -- Incorporate DTV Transition reminders and messages into the closed circuit videos that run on TVs in Circuit City stores nationwide -- Provide store signage devoted to the DTV Transition -- Educate our customers via the Circuit City Web site, http://www.circuitcity.com/, on the DTV Transition. The site already offers industry-leading HDTV information by posting unbiased and unedited reports from leading consumer publications, and through more than 130,000 customer ratings and reviews. -- Conduct additional training for store personnel related to the DTV Transition, and also related to the government program that will provide discount coupons to help consumers purchase set-top tuner boxes to convert digital broadcast signals for analog-only TV sets. Circuit City intends to participate in the voluntary tuner box coupon program run by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), pending the resolution of a number of technical and regulatory questions. As an active member of CERC and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Circuit City has worked actively with the NTIA to fulfill the responsibilities delegated to it by the U.S. Congress. About Circuit City Stores, Inc. Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CC) is a leading specialty retailer of consumer electronics and related services. The domestic segment operates through 656 Superstores and 13 other locations in 158 U.S. markets. The international segment operates through approximately 800 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada. Circuit City also operates Web sites at http://www.circuitcity.com/, http://www.thesource.ca/ and http://www.firedog.com/. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/CCLOGO) Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010709/CCLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, [email protected] Source: Circuit City Stores, Inc. CONTACT: Bill Cimino, Director of Corporate Communications of Circuit City Stores, Inc., +1-804-418-8163 Web site: http://www.circuitcity.com/ http://www.thesource.ca/ http://www.firedog.com/