Digital TV: The Screw-Up Continues
Officials fighting over coupon funding; the FCC feels the heat on stations going digital early. And so on and so on.
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (February 12, 2009) -- The federal government's plan to switch all full-powered local TV stations from analog to digital signals had another tough day on Tuesday. Here's a summary of the action:
Obama Signs Delay Bill 'For Consumers'
President Obama yesterday finally signed legislation that officially moves the transition date from Feb. 17 to June 12 -- a full week after Congress passed the bill. During the week when Mr. Obama ignored the bill -- a bill he urged Congress to pass -- federal agencies seemed confused about when the transition would actually occur. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration actually listed the transition occurring on two dates on its web site -- Feb. 17 and June 12.
The president delays the DTV transition -- well, sort of.
Mr. Obama yesterday issued a statement explaining why he signed the delay bill:
"During these challenging economic times, the needs of American consumers are a top priority of my administration," the president said. "This law, which was crafted in a bipartisan way and passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate, ensures that our citizens will have more time to prepare for the conversion."
But Some Consumers Won't Get a Delay
However, despite the president's assurance that citizens would have more time to prepare, Reuters reported yesterday that 40 percent of local stations planned to switch to all-digital by Feb 17 anyway.
If they proceed, it means that their viewers will need to be ready with converter boxes, a Digital TV or a pay TV service by next week -- not four months from now as the president just promised.
"Regulators were caught off guard by the steep number of stations that want to transition early, even after lawmakers delayed a mandatory nationwide switch to 'DTV' by months,"Reuters wrote.
Perhaps embarrassed -- as well as caught off-guard -- by the large number of stations getting ready to go all-digital, acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps held a press conference yesterday to say that the agency will review the list of stations planning to make the switch early. He said the FCC may even stop some of them from switching.
"We are six days from the most demanding consumer technology transition in the history of broadcasting," Copps said, referring to the old Digital TV transition date of Feb. 17, which actually could still be the current transition date for hundreds of local stations.
So, the FCC has six days to determine whether some local stations can go all-digital early. Well, actually, that's not true. Because the transition date was scheduled on Feb. 17, the agency has already permitted roughly 150 stations to switch to all-digital signals.
There's no bringing them back.
Congress Fights Over Converter Box Funding
And finally yesterday, Democrats and Republicans yesterday fought over a provision in the Economic Stimulus Bill that would allocate another $650 million for the federal government's digital converter coupon program. (The program has run out of funds, leaving many consumers hesitant to buy the converters. The coupon is worth $40 while most converters cost between $50 and $75.)
Broadcasting & Cable Magazine reports that a compromise has been reached in a House-Senate conference committee that will allow the $650 million to stay in the bill, although many Republicans say it won't "stimulate" the economy or create jobs. However, it remains to be seen if the funding will make it to final passage.
Without the funding, it's likely that a portion of the seven million Americans who have yet to prepare for the DTV switch will continue to stay on the sidelines.
The actions described above took place on one day. And now we have four months more to go before the next transition date.
Good luck to us all.
