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. ( 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)
 
 

SOURCE Circuit City Stores, Inc.