DTV Delay Act pushes transition to June 12

by Sarah Granger

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Last week, Congress passed legislation (the DTV Delay Act), signed into law on Wednesday by the president to extend the date of the national transition to digital TV.  The details of this extension are complex, and not all stations will be able to comply.  The original plan was for all stations to convert from broadcasting in analog to broadcasting in digital, meaning an equipment change at stations as well as for individual television owners.  All analog TVs would fail to receive signals without proper adjustments or replacement.

The switchover had been planned for Tuesday, February 17, but due to multiple reasons –- reduced conversion box supplies and an influx of coupon requests –- thousands of television owners are not yet equipped for the transition.  Therefore, Congress and President Obama took action to extend the transition date.

Many stations have already scheduled crews for their technical conversion, so they could not alter the date of their transitions.  There are approximately 500 stations that fall in this category.  Some will be converting before the 17th and the rest will convert on the 17th.  The full list of those converting within the week is available on the FCC site.  Most states have stations that are on this list.  However, the remainder will transition closer to the June 12 deadline.

Some stations originally slated to transition next week changed their plans at the last minute.  In Kansas City, for example, local stations were all set to go on February 17, but one by one, they rescheduled to June.  As the Kansas City Star noted, "Two major ratings periods occur between February and June, and being the sole all-digital station in a ratings book was a risk none of them wanted to take."

As a result of the change, some viewers will lose stations gradually if they do not yet have converter boxes for their analog TVs.  For everyone already prepared, it means a few more months of transition.  While some stations will begin switching over on Tuesday, many others will have until the June 12 date.

Digital Landing has an "all you need to know" page dedicated to providing information about the Digital TV transition and the FCC has released a Consumer Advisory about what the transition delay means.  The three options outlined for TV owners:

1. Purchase and connect a "digital-to-analog converter box" to your analog TV
2. Purchase a digital television (a TV with a built-in digital tuner)
3. Subscribe to a paid service such as cable or satellite TV. "  (With option 3, they provide the converter box.)

Public outreach for the transition program has been extensive, but as one source at the FCC said, "this may be the most significant technology event the U.S. has ever had."  Hundreds of millions of homes are affected by the change that has been coming for decades.  The reason: to free up precious bandwidth on the airwaves and to allow for a higher quality TV picture.  The best way to stay informed is to watch the Dtv.gov site for the Digital TV transition.