Digital TV is here!

[Brent]

Why even have them vote the first time if they knew they could do this? Sheesh.

That's what I was confused about, doesn't make much sense. I hear it will be voluntary though. Two of my local stations are now saying the analog signal will be killed on the 17th regardless, so we'll see.

[gtalum]

Why even have them vote the first time if they knew they could do this? Sheesh.

That's what I was confused about, doesn't make much sense. I hear it will be voluntary though. Two of my local stations are now saying the analog signal will be killed on the 17th regardless, so we'll see.

I suspect that most stations will switch regardless of what they do with the deadline. The equipment's already in place, and transmitting both analog and digital signals is costing them extra cash.

[cycloneye]

For the second time,the House passes the bill to delay the transition to digital by a count of 264-158.The Senate passed the delay bill last week.Now the last step is for the president to sign it.

The House voted today 264-158 to delay the analog TV shutdown until June 12.

The nation was two weeks away from the original date of Feb. 17 for the digital transition, allowing broadcasters to replace analog TV signals with digital ones.

But the Obama administration and many Democrats asked for the delay, saying millions of people are not ready for the switch. The bill, already approved by the Senate, now goes to the president for his approval, considered a given. Still be resolved is the funding needed for more coupons to help consumers offset the cost of converter boxes. That issue will likely be considered as part of the economic stimulus legislation.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29003127/

[southerngale]

Idiots.

[Category 5]

this is incredibly stupid.

[Squarethecircle]

I can understand why they want to do this, but I am unconvinced of its potential effectiveness.

[Brent]

I can understand why they want to do this, but I am unconvinced of its potential effectiveness.

Yeah, all it will do is add to the confusion and make people less inclined to get ready. There will still be people not ready in June.

[Ptarmigan]

Even if they delay it, people will still forget to make the change.

[vbhoutex]

This does no good for all the people who are too poor to afford it(which is part of the premise for the delay) if there is no funding for the coupons for the converter boxes for them. And there is no funding for said coupons or boxes in the bill. How utterly stupid!!!!

[JonathanBelles]

There are news stations (such as WEDU) that are making the switch anyway. Most news stations in this area are debating the issue.

[lurkey]

More Stations Opt for Early DTV Switch

Will shut off analog Feb. 17 and hope for the best
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/6/2009 9:15:23 AM MT

Each day brings another batch of stations that say they'll make the switch to digital television Feb. 17, as they've been planning for months, as opposed to waiting for the Congress-approved delayed date of June 12. Among those making the early jump are the major Providence stations, those in northern Vermont, Billings (MT), Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Dubuque, and some in Madison, Wisconsin. The Hawaii stations made the switch Jan. 15 to accommodate a local bird species' breeding season; broadcasters there reported a manageable level of viewer issues.

"Collectively, we felt it was in the best interest of our viewers to transition to digital TV on Feb. 17, the date which has been, and continues to be, in all of our public service announcements," says WPRI/WNAC Providence President/General Manager Jay Howell.

Station executives don't like the idea of paying for both digital and analog transmission facilities over the next four months, and say the countless hours (and dollars) they've spent drilling the Feb. 17 date into viewers' heads should not be for naught. "The stations in this market have done an outstanding job of educating the public to this conversion and that it would occur on Feb. 17," says KWWL Cedar Rapids Station Manager Kim Leer.

Stations that wish to pull the analog plug by the original deadline must apply for FCC approval by Feb. 9. Stations making the early switch must air at least 120 PSA's about it.

Some 5.8 million U.S. homes remain unprepared for digital television, Nielsen reported yesterday, down from 6.5 million almost three weeks ago. Many groups are opting to observe the June extension, which awaits President Obama's signature, believing the extra time will drive down the number of unprepared. Those include CBS, Fox, NBC, Telemundo and ABC, while Gannett and Hearst-Argyle have pledged to keep analog signals on at the vast majority of their stations until June 12.

The June delay has caused confusion not only among viewers, but among some broadcasters too. The Vermont Association of Broadcasters' Website, for example, has a ticking countdown to the former Feb. 17 deadline on its homepage, then offers the June 12 deadline a click away on its "DTV Answers" page.

Many broadcasters believe they've done their part to educate the public, and that those who are unprepared as of now may never be prepared. "We believe our viewers are ready for the change," said KTTC/KXLT Rochester (MN) VP/General Manager Jerry Watson on KTTC.com. "We have been telling them consistently about this pending change for more than six months."

[Brent]

Many broadcasters believe they've done their part to educate the public, and that those who are unprepared as of now may never be prepared. "We believe our viewers are ready for the change," said KTTC/KXLT Rochester (MN) VP/General Manager Jerry Watson on KTTC.com. "We have been telling them consistently about this pending change for more than six months."

All the stations in the Montgomery market(including my NBC station) are going ahead with the switch, along with 3 stations in Huntsville and all the PBS stations statewide.

[Brent]

FCC Greenlights 368 TV Stations to Ditch Analog
FCC also identifies 123 stations that won't be permitted to make the switch on Feb. 17 as requested

The Federal Communications Commission late Wednesday (Feb. 11) gave the green light to 368 full-power TV stations to shut off their analog signals on Feb. 17, the original DTV deadline. At the same time, the FCC identified 123 stations that won't be permitted to make the switch on Feb. 17 as requested, unless they comply with certain conditions and procedures.

According to the FCC's analysis, early termination of the 123 station "poses a significant risk of substantial public harm."

This week, President Obama signed legislation that moved the DTV deadline from Feb. 17 to June 12.

The 123 TV stations are in markets where all four of the major network affiliates have decided to switch, in Burlington, Vt.; Dayton, Ohio; Eugene, Ore.; Billings, Mont.; Lincoln, Neb.; Madison, Wis.; Mobile, Ala.; Providence, R.I.; Rockford, Ill.; La Crosse, Wis.; Charleston, W.V.; Santa Barbara, Calif.; Sioux City, Iowa; South Bend, Ind.; Topeka, Kan.; Waco, Tex.; Wausau, Wis.; and Wichita, Kan.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_dis ... a560ed87eb

[cycloneye]

Here in Puerto Rico,at least two stations (Channels 4 and 11) announced that they would make the change on Febuary 17th,so if they change,the FCC will turn off their signals?

[Category 5]

I wish all stations would just go ahead with it, we can't be rewarding laziness.

[cycloneye]

On midnight EST,many stations will make the switch to digital.Lets see what the FCC does to the stations that do the transition.In Puerto Rico,three TV stations will make the switch.

[RL3AO]

Anyone know more about subchannels? I just saw something mentioning this. Apparently stations will be able to have more than one channel. Say FOX affiliate channel 9 could have 3 channels. 9, 9.2, and 9.3

That would be interesting for severe weather coverage. Up here in MN we always have people complain that their shows get interupted for storm coverage that doesn't involve them. That would be cool if they could say "If you want to watch House, switch to channel 9.2 and we'll keep weather coverage here".

Any one else heard about this. That would be really nice if they could do it. It might also make them less hesitant to break into shows.

[gtalum]

Yes, with digital TV, each channel can have sub-channels. The major network affiliates, for instance, will likely have the main channel, a weather channel, and a news channel.

[lurkey]

Some of the smaller stations in the Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville area, (CW, MyN) are turning off the analog signal tonight. The bigger stations, (WRAL-CBS, WTVD-ABC, WITN-NBC) are extending the deadline. . . it's my understanding (from various BBs postings) that they are under pressure by the networks to wait until June 12. . .

[Brent]

My CW station is also turning off analog at 11:59 tonight along with PBS at some point but none of the others are. NBC was going to but decided against it later. The FOX station in Birmingham says they will switch before June but haven't announced a date yet. Everyone else is waiting til June. Confusing nonsense.

641 Stations Make DTV Switch
421 stations join the 220 that already made the change

Feb 17, 2009

NEW YORK Today, 421 full-power TV stations terminated analog signals and made the switch to digital broadcasting, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which released final figures Monday.

The 421 join the 220 stations that have already made the DTV transition.

Even though the government moved the DTV deadline from Feb. 17 to June 12, hundreds of stations notified the FCC that they would prefer to stick to the earlier date. Not all stations that made the request were allowed go on the 17th. Of the 491 that filed with the FCC, 123 were determined by the commission to potentially cause "public interest harms" unless they met certain conditions.

Following a second filing, 53 were cleared by the FCC to make the DTV transition.

In total, about 36 percent of all TV stations have made the transition to digital. A number of the major-market affiliate groups and the network owned-and-operated stations of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have indicated that they would honor the new June 12 deadline.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_displa ... 9083c970b9