Senate votes to delay digital move
Moving the transition from analog television to June 12 goes to the House. A vote may be today.
The Senate voted yesterday to delay next month's transition to digital television until June 12 because some viewers won't be ready for the switch.
The voice vote followed a call by President Obama's administration to postpone the Feb. 17 deadline for major TV stations to stop sending traditional analog signals. Similar legislation awaits action in the House today.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.Va.), who leads the Commerce Committee, said last week he had reached agreement with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the top Republican on the panel, on the legislation. Some Republicans had opposed a delay, saying it would cause confusion by changing a long-planned date.
The issue now goes to the House, where Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D., Calif.) has vowed to work with House leaders to bring Rockefeller's bill up for a floor vote today.
A federal program to subsidize digital equipment that some viewers will need has fallen short of funds, and the government last week reported a waiting list of 1.4 million households.
More than 6.5 million homes aren't able to receive digital TV programming, the Nielsen Co. said last week. The figure is a decrease from last month, when Nielsen said almost 8 million couldn't get digital programming.
When the transition happens, major TV stations will stop sending traditional analog signals and transmit exclusively in digital. Analog TV sets connected to antennas will need converter boxes to continue receiving signals. Most TV viewers needn't take action because they subscribe to cable or satellite services that will ensure they still get pictures.
Obama's transition team called on Jan. 8 for postponing the date. It said poor, elderly and rural Americans face difficulties from the analog cutoff, and pointed to the waiting list at the program that subsidizes digital converter boxes. That effort offers $40 coupons toward the cost of the boxes, which sell for $40 to $80 at retail outlets.
The government mandated the change to digital service to raise money by auctioning airwaves used by TV's analog broadcasts, to free spectrum for use by emergency workers and to provide more channels and crisper pictures.
Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc., which together spent $16 billion for access to the airwaves that will become available after analog TV transmissions cease, have told Congress they could accept a brief delay.