Obama: Delay digital TV start: He says public needs more help

[drmark7]

(Wasn't sure where to post this- moderator feel free to move if needed)

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/01/09/obama_delay_digital_tv_start/
Obama: Delay digital TV start: He says public needs more help

Associated Press / January 9, 2009

WASHINGTON - President-elect Barack Obama is urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting, arguing that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air channels won't be ready.
In a letter to key lawmakers, Obama transition team cochair John Podesta said the digital transition needs to be delayed largely because the Commerce Department has run out of money for coupons to subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers. People who don't have cable or satellite service or a new TV with a digital tuner will need the converter boxes to keep their older analog sets working.
Obama transition officials are also concerned the government is not doing enough to help Americans - particularly those in rural, poor, or minority communities - prepare.
In 2005, Congress required that broadcasters switch from analog to digital broadcasts, which are more efficient, to free up valuable chunks of wireless spectrum. The newly available airwaves can be used for commercial wireless services and for emergency-response networks.
Obama's request is a victory for Consumers Union, which had asked for a postponement. "We are extremely pleased the incoming administration is supportive of consumer efforts to ensure that the poor, elderly, and rural consumers do not face economic hardship," said Gene Kimmelman, the group's vice president.
The Commerce Department said Monday that it had hit a $1.34 billion funding limit set by Congress to pay for converter box coupons. The coupon program allows consumers to request up to two $40 vouchers per household to help pay for the boxes, which generally cost between $40 and $80 each and can be purchased without a coupon.
In his letter, Podesta said government funding for the coupon program and consumer education and support efforts is "woefully inadequate." He said Obama plans to include resources to help consumers through the digital transition in an economic recovery package.
But the idea of a delay was not met with universal support.
The Bush administration opposes a postponement. A delay, an administration official said, would create uncertainty, frustration, and confusion.
Representative Joe Barton of Texas, the House Energy and Commerce Committee's top Republican, said there's no need to "bail out" the program because the government will be able to send out more coupons as unredeemed ones expire.
The National Association of Broadcasters would not say whether it supports pushing back the transition date, but it believes the problems with the coupon program can be fixed without a delay.

read comments at link

*_*_*
Questions?/Comments? * This Has Been e-mail From:
"Dr. Mark" Hill * The Doctor Of Pop Culture

[snodgrass23]

They need to just get the switchover done and stop worrying about what might happen. It's already been delayed enough and people have had plenty of time to prepare and get their setup changed. There will always be people dragging behind (especially if they still only have analog reception now) and the best way to get them to switch is to turn it off.

[Scott]

:rolleyes: :twocents:

[Robbiee19]

They need to just get the switchover done and stop worrying about what might happen. It's already been delayed enough and people have had plenty of time to prepare and get their setup changed. There will always be people dragging behind (especially if they still only have analog reception now) and the best way to get them to switch is to turn it off.Agree! Just do it and get it done already.

[festivus]

Yep. There will always be some people that won't react to this until the analog signal gets turned off. There has been plenty of press about this on all stations so there should be no excuses.

One thing that should be mandated is that enough converter boxes are on hand in the stores the day after the analog signal is turned off. I can see a shortage/delays happening like with passport processing at the beginning of last year. We do need to plan ahead for that.

[darkfiber]

Digital-TV switchover will go ahead in 20 days

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:21 PM



ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The House has defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12.
House Republicans succeeded in scuttling a bill to delay the transition, which is scheduled for Feb. 17, less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed the plan.
The defeat is a setback for the Obama administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who fear too many Americans are not ready for the switchover.
The Nielsen Co. estimates more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog television sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals could see their TV sets go dark next month if the transition is not postponed.

[Scott]

Digital-TV switchover will go ahead in 20 days

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:21 PM



ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- The House has defeated a bill to postpone the upcoming transition from analog to digital television broadcasting by four months to June 12.
House Republicans succeeded in scuttling a bill to delay the transition, which is scheduled for Feb. 17, less than two days after the Senate unanimously passed the plan.
The defeat is a setback for the Obama administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill, who fear too many Americans are not ready for the switchover.
The Nielsen Co. estimates more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog television sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals could see their TV sets go dark next month if the transition is not postponed.

:up:

[darkfiber]

:up:

Not so fast. The Senate is trying again...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090130/media_nm/us_dtv_congress_2

" The U.S. Senate unanimously passed another bill on Thursday to delay the national transition to digital television....

The bill is essentially the same that previously passed the Senate, but with a few minor modifications from the House...

Hutchison said the delay was voluntary and television stations could go ahead if they wished with digital transmission on February 17 as scheduled and drop analog transmission..."

[Scott]

I don't get it. No matter how long they delay it---it's already been delayed for 3 years---there are still going to be people that will not have the converter boxes.

[bspvette86]

I've had my OTA tuner for four years now... :blink: :eek: Guess I'll have another beer since that's one thing I didn't procrastinate on.

[festivus]

Anyone know who or what's going to be using the analog frequencies after the switch over? Isn't that the reason for the all digital mandate? Just curious.

[snodgrass23]

Most, if not all, of the frequencies were auctioned off and if I remember correctly, Verizon got the largest chunk. I think they can be used for different things, but I think cell and data plans will likely use a lot of it.

[darkfiber]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/04/BU5L15N8V6.DTL

(02-04) 13:32 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Television viewers who rely on sets with antennas to pick up their broadcast signals have about four extra months to get ready for the nation's switch to digital TV.
The House of Representatives voted 264 to 158 today to move back the Feb. 17 deadline to June 12, sending the fast-tracked legislation to President Obama, who has promised to sign it. The vote, largely along party lines, gives approximately 6.5 million unprepared households more time to prepare for the day when all analog TV broadcasts are turned off.
"We are not ready for this transition," said U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, during the House debate. "We can fix these problems and minimize this catastrophe if we pass this legislation."
The Senate first passed the bill unanimously last week and then resubmitted it after a corresponding House vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Wednesday's House vote required a simple majority.
Consumers who rely on traditional over-the-air broadcasts will need to upgrade to a pay TV service such as cable or satellite, use a TV with a digital tuner or buy a converter box for their older analog television sets.
The bill passed by the House does not include new money for a federal program aimed at providing viewers $40 coupons toward a converter box, which can cost $40 to $80. The program has dispensed its allotment of $1.34 billion worth of coupons and is waiting for unused coupons - good for 90 days - to expire before issuing new vouchers.
About 3.5 million requests are now on the waiting list. The new legislation also allows consumers to reapply for a coupon if their vouchers have expired.
Obama's stimulus package includes $650 million for the converter box coupons, but Republicans argued the money will not be available for weeks if not months.
Opponents of the delay said the new transition date only adds more confusion, delays the handover of old spectrum to emergency first responders and doesn't come with money of its own for the coupon program. Some Republicans took issue with the Democrats' streamlined approval process for the bill, which prevented representatives from amending the legislation and adding funding for the coupons.
"We're delaying a hard transition today without any additional money or any way to send out additional coupons," said Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Commerce Committee. "How silly is that?"
The delay does not mean every station will continue to broadcast in analog. Broadcasters will be permitted to shut off their analog transmission before June 12. That creates a potential uneven transition for analog viewers, who might still lose some channels, depending on what local stations decide to do.
Despite that scenario, proponents said the delay was necessary to not only disburse more coupons but also help educate them about issues that arise from the transition.
"We knew there was going to be some challenges moving forward even if the date is moved, but this allows ut so get more information and assistance to folks," said Mark Lloyd, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund.
For more information about the transition to digital TV, go to www.dtv.gov (http://www.dtv.gov/), or call 1 (888) 388-2009.

[nicjimbass]

WHYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!

So, if 6% of the population is unprepared and will lose all signal, all of a sudden, after at least a year of constant warning, four extra months is going to make all the difference? Just switch it already, and force those who are either ignorant or stubborn to switch! And if it's an issue of getting a converter box, JUST SPEND THE MONEY TO GET A BOX!!! Who cares if you pay $50 for one, at least you'll have TV! Better yet, instead of handing out coupons which have a finite limit, why don't manufacturers simply sell these things for $10 for everyone? I'm sure they cost pennies to make, meaning $10 is still a nice profit. Arrrrgggg! I'm soooo sick of this crap!

[Thombil]

why don't manufacturers simply sell these things for $10 for everyone?



Because the licensing cost of the technology is about $25 per box then you have the cost of manufacturing, packaging, transportation from Asia, pay for the stock boy at Wal-Mart, the sales clerk and finally the smile from the greeter as you go out the door. That’s why.

Geeesh everybody wants something for nothing.:doh:

[Scott]

I don't think this is ever going to happen...

[DublinDoodah]

"We can fix these problems and minimize this catastrophe if we pass this legislation."Catastrophe??? PAALEEEEZ!!

[festivus]

I really don't care what they do. Even if the analog frequencies are to be used for cell and data plans, I'm not missing them now. Until I hear that I'm missing out on something that I need or want, what's it to me? I have the digital signals already.

However, I still don't understand why some people can't understand that they need a converter box and that it's nearly free.

[JayPSU]

I really don't care what they do. Even if the analog frequencies are to be used for cell and data plans, I'm not missing them now. Until I hear that I'm missing out on something that I need or want, what's it to me? I have the digital signals already.

I would think that the sooner we go away from analog, the sooner more bandwidth can be freed up for more HD programming on all providers. I think that's why most people care.

[snodgrass23]

It's almost official: June 12th.
http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/Gw6nA6k1d74/dtv-delay-passes-264-158.ars (http://feeds.arstechnica.com/%7Er/arstechnica/index/%7E3/Gw6nA6k1d74/dtv-delay-passes-264-158.ars)

"The House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon passed legislation (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:1:./temp/%7Ec11117na1b::) to delay the transition to digital television and the cessation of analog broadcast, by a largely party-line vote (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll052.xml) of 264 to 158. The transition, previously scheduled for February 17, will be pushed back 115 days to June 12 once President Obama signs the bill, as he is expected to.

Democrats overwhelmingly supported the delay: 10 crossed the aisle to join Republicans in opposing the legislation, while 23 Republicans crossed over in the other direction. Floor debate preceding the bill saw the now-familiar arguments on both sides rehearsed: delay proponents stressed that pressing ahead would leave some 6 million households at risk of being cut off from television service thanks to an ill-managed subsidy program for digital converter boxes that had run out of funding. (To drive home the point, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office circulated a chart (http://static.arstechnica.com/districtdtvchart.pdf) (PDF) showing the number of households on the waiting list for a converter box coupon in each member's district.) Opponents warned of the risk of confusing consumers or undermining their confidence in the official deadline, and even invoked the specter of September 11 in urging the need to quickly make current analog TV spectrum available to emergency services.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who led the opposition to the delay legislation, made a last-ditch attempt to block the vote by offering a motion to recommit the bill, returning it to committee with an amendment requiring broadcasters occupying spectrum destined for emergency services to adhere to the original deadline—a motion that failed (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll051.xml) by an only slightly smaller margin than that supporting the delay bill. Broadcasters may begin making the transition to digital-only before the June 12 final deadline, though Barton has suggested (http://republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=6822) that FCC interference rules may prevent some from doing so ahead of their spectrum neighbors"

[bspvette86]

:doh:

[zelig2]

I wonder how soon our local stations will turn off their analog transmitters. Costing $10k or more a month to power is a nice savings. I think all of the station owners are meeting with the Dispatch to discuss when they're going to try and pull the plug.

[gsb]

The FCC has posted the procedures for stations that want to shut down prior to June 12: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-6A1.pdf

It's rather long, but the gist for the earliest shutdown is:

If a station wants to shut down analog broadcasts on February 17, they must notify the FCC by February 9. (If they had already notified the FCC, that doesn't count; they have to file again.) So I guess there will be a list then of who is and isn't shutting down.

[Robbiee19]

NBC 4 has stated during the news telecasts that they are going to shut the analog transmitters off on 17 Feb and not delay. Of course they can always change their minds.

[bullwinkle]

I think they will all agree to shut down their analog xmiters at the same time or they wont. Nobody wants to be the odd man out, or in this case, the only one not broadcasting an analog signal. WOSU is the exception because they are taxpayer funded and have no advertisers to hack off.

[gsb]

Of course they can always change their minds.

Actually, they can't change their minds. If they don't (by 9 Feb) file a notification that they're shutting down on 17 Feb, they must not shut down, and if they do file a notification, then they must shut down:

"The Commission, consumers, public safety officials, MVPDs and others will rely on these notifications. We expect that stations indicating their intent to terminate their analog service on February 17 will do so. Therefore, as a condition of the waiver granted herein, the Commission will not permit stations to withdraw or modify these notifications except in the event of emergency or disaster necessitating the continued operation of analog service."

OTOH, even if they notify the FCC that they're shutting down on 17 Feb, the FCC can order them not to:

"Consistent with our public interest responsibilities and Congress’ delay of the transition to June 12 to give consumers additional time to prepare, the Commission reserves the right to limit or reconsider this partial waiver in the event that it determines that analog termination on February 17 by a station or group of stations is contrary to the public interest."

[Robbiee19]

I think NBC 4 is going to turn off the analog transmitters. It comes down to money. They are all set for this to happen and now at the last minute the gov't changes its mind which will cost boardcasters more money. Don't be surprised if more casters go the route of NBC 4.

[Scott]

WTTE and WSYX are standing firm with the February deadline too. I read it on their crawl during the news this morning.

[bspvette86]

NBC4i (wcmh) said today on the morning show that they will keep their analog signal on till June.

[siper66]

I Read on the 10TV website that they plan on waiting until June to switch to digital as well. My question is does any of this matter to any of us (digital ready consumers)? Will the Digital signal be better when these stations shut off the analog signal? Has anyone heard anything about the PBS stations? can 't get a good OTA signal where I live here in in Westerville for some reason..:confused:

[aaronod]

I Read on the 10TV website that they plan on waiting until June to switch to digital as well. My question is does any of this matter to any of us (digital ready consumers)? Will the Digital signal be better when these stations shut off the analog signal? Has anyone heard anything about the PBS stations? can 't get a good OTA signal where I live here in in Westerville for some reason..:confused:

Theoretically, only 2% of the U.S. population will lose channels due to the switch over, most people will see an increase in coverage area. Here are the maps for the Columbus area. http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/maps_report1/Columbus_OH.pdf
Some Dayton channels and the Zanesville NBC channel are expected to be picked up by some in Franklin county as well.
Oh, and WMFD in Mansfield will probably be viewable in northern Franklin county.

[gsb]

The FCC has released the lists of stations shutting down on 17 Feb. According to the list, channels 28 and 53 will shut down analog service on 17 Feb. Channels 4, 6, 10, 34, and 51 will continue analog service.

Here are links to the info:

FCC public notice (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A1.pdf)

Appendix A: Stations terminating analog service on or before 17 Feb (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A3.pdf)

Appendix B: All full power stations, indicating those terminating service on or before 17 Feb (http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-221A5.pdf)

[DublinDoodah]

I find it odd that Sinclair would shut down one of their stations (28) but not the other (6).

[bspvette86]

I find it odd that Sinclair would shut down one of their stations (28) but not the other (6).

Could be they get more $$$ from ABC than Fox......

[Scott]

Weird that on 28's crawl this morning--they listed June as the new deadline. This could be due to the fact that they simulcast portions of the news on 6.

[festivus]

Nothing that Sinclair does surprises me. Although I must admit that they've gotten a whole lot better in the last year.