CEA APPLAUDS NEW FTC TV LABELING RULES

TV Rulemaking Helps Improve Energy Use Transparency

Arlington, Va., October 27, 2010 – The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® today applauded the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) new TV energy labeling rules. In response to the rules, Douglas Johnson, CEA’s vice president of technology policy, made the following statement:

“We applaud the FTC for its rulemaking today. It’s an exciting and important development for consumers that will provide helpful energy use information for TVs. CEA has long supported efforts to provide consumers with more information about the energy use of the electronics they purchase, and we look forward to working with the FTC as it considers similar measures for other product categories.

“The consumer electronics industry worked hard to develop standard ways of measuring TV energy use that support such labeling programs while at the same time dramatically improving the energy efficiency of digital TVs. The average TV today uses less energy than two 75-watt light bulbs, while providing a rich viewing experience. As the new TV energy use labels will demonstrate, the energy cost of enjoying high-definition digital TV is on average only one or two dollars a week, even for the largest TVs.”

The FTC’s rules, which go into effect in mid-2011, call for the primary disclosure on the label to be the product’s estimated annual energy cost, with comparative information on similar-sized TVs in most cases. For further details on the FTC’s requirements for TVs, please visit: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/10/tvlabeling.shtm.

About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $165 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org.