[ Saturday ]
DTV Transition Will Be DelayedCongress will vote to delay the transition to digital television, currently scheduled for February 17 2009. The problems are many, but the main obstacle has been the coupon program with the built-in expiration date, and the potential for having 15-20 million homes go dark when the switch occurs.
One of the other problems, however, is not being debated...at least publicly...by the Congress. While they want to appear compassionate to their constituents, and the FCC has failed miserably in its execution of the marketing program, the costs to the broadcasters and equipment makers will be huge. Ultimately, as with the coupon program itself, the consumer will end up footing the bill.
In many areas of the country, digital transmissions are already available, but since broadcasters are operating analog and digital equipment at the same time, many have not 'powered up' the digital signal to the full operational levels. So, for the consumer wondering if they will be able to receive a digital signal when the switch occurs, there is little to do but wait.
And while cable and satellite providers insist that current subscribers will not have to do anything in order to transition through the process, the fact remains that most subscribers are paying an ever-increasing monthly bill in order to receive basic cable and a limited selection of satellite programs. OTA (over the air) signals for analog and digital can be received with small antennas in many urban and suburban areas, but many homes and apartments do not have the equipment in place.
As the federal government moves to nationalize the financial industry, why not nationalize ESPN and transmit the signal from towers so that we can at least be guaranteed of receiving a few decent sporting events over the air...for 'free'.
MM [06:49]
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