House Passes Delay to Digital TV

[caliblue15]

Originally Posted by Silo5

The House is supposed to vote again on this today. I wonder how it will turn out this time.

That's stupid... 12 days before it. just let it run its course..

[Sonny]

My local channels were saying last night that they had cut there Analog signal by 50% already, I think anyway. Hell cut that shite off all the way!!

[Bobby Henderson]

The company that operates in the NBC and FOX affiliates in my viewing market are considering reducing the transmission power on their analog broadcasts after Feb 17. Their NBC DTV transmission is already at full power (1 million watts) and the FOX DTV transmission will go to full power any day now.

Depending on what actually gets signed into law (it looks likely the House bill will at least get a 50%+ vote) hundreds of TV stations in the US may end their analog transmissions after Feb. 17. The wording on the DTV delay act is foggy, giving the implication the delay is a voluntary one. The is a chance the delay could be mandatory. And that would really screw a lot of local broadcasters who are already suffering enough under tight budgets as it is. Cutting back analog transmission power to where only viewers within a few miles could receive the signals may be one workaround.

[The Big Blue]

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

Un

fuc*ing

believable

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by The Big Blue

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

Un

fuc*ing

believable

And at the end of May, they'll delay it again.

Enshrining procrastination in law.

Gary

[DavidAg02]

I thought TV is a luxury. Why are they delaying the switch for more funding of converter boxes?

I think our government has better things to do than sit around debating how our TV signals get broadcast.

[Movie-Grrl]

Anybody who hasn't converted and is still sitting on the fence will still be on the fence 6 months from now. Lets get on with it, shut down those analog towers!

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by Movie-Grrl

Anybody who hasn't converted and is still sitting on the fence will still be on the fence 6 months from now. Lets get on with it, shut down those analog towers!

I can without a doubt guarantee anybody on the fence in the south will sure as heck switch over immediately once hurricane season hits. All they need to do is run a PSA about not being able to learn more about a cat 5 barreling down on the Gulf Coast because you lost reception and there will be a mad rush for these converters.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by Silo5

The House is supposed to vote again on this today. I wonder how it will turn out this time.

Well, does it really matter? A bill is a bill, not a law. Now, if they pass a law, we would all be upset. Part of me will be sad to see analog go, if only for the sake of my two or three remaining portable TV's.

[HorrorHead]

I work for a tv station and we are going ahead with the transition on the 17th. We are running PSA's so viewers know it's going to happen. It costs more to transmit in analog and because everyone thought the transition was a go, paying the additional cost for analog was never put into this year's budget. I imagine this is going to happen at a lot of stations across the country, especially smaller markets. Layoffs are happening industry wide. Advertising dollars are scarce. The money isn't there to hold off.

[ussrelativity]

Multiple stations in my area have already terminated their analog broadcasts.

The government needs to stop encouraging more laziness and pork spending with these coupons.

[Crimy]

Stupid to delay the switch. How freaking long has they been telling people get ready? Now you have people being human and waiting till the last minute to prepare, well I say tough ****. You had over a year to get ready for it, don't wait till the last minute again.

[fatediesel]

My local stations said they had FCC approval to go ahead with the February 17 switch as planned. I read in the paper that it was costing stations in my area over $5000/month extra per station to have the analog and digital feeds running so I would assume the stations want this switch to happen.

[MarkJ801]

Yeah all of the stations in Salt Lake are switching on the 17th except for public broadcast stations like PBS. I can't believe how stupid it was of the government to approve the delay.

[tron3]

Originally Posted by HorrorHead

I work for a tv station and we are going ahead with the transition on the 17th...., paying the additional cost for analog was never put into this year's budget. ... Layoffs are happening industry wide. Advertising dollars are scarce. The money isn't there to hold off.

Uncle Sam needs to read this. Delaying the transition will result in even MORE layoffs. Which is worse for the economy? A few thousand MORE people losing jobs, or a couple of million people losing TV? Further more, lost recession jobs take YEARS to come back. Then they come back at lower salaries. People will spend less for the next 3 to 5 years - MINIMUM. Even IF they find a new job.

While those lost viewers represent lost revenue, the report of TV stations laying off people would be more catastrofic to the confidence of the American public. Thus making the recession feel even worse! C'mon, you never hear of TV stations laying off. Not on a large scale. It mostly gets done in silent. This is the Internet age. There will be NO WAY to keep mass layoffs quite in the TV industry. The panic of more layoffs is worse than a couple of million yahoo's who did nothing, and probably don't really care!

Don't delay digital!

[Driver_King]

If the delay is mandatory, there is going to be some serious issues. People are going to be laid off en-mass and a chain reaction will ensue. For the sake of America, don't delay this! What the hell is the point of delaying it anyways? After several years of people and stations being warned this was going to happen, and twelve days before the switch, we decide we're going to delay it more?!? In the financial crisis and employment frenzy going on now, really?

[Mouse]

This doesn't affect me since I have satelite but I agree that they should NOT delay the switch. Not only does it cost the TV stations, it causes confusion and those airwaves are not being cleared up for emergency personnel who needed them years ago.

Lame politics...

[Bobby Henderson]

More than 60% of the local TV stations in the United States are already set to turn off their analog signals on February 17 despite the ruling of the new legislation. These stations have already submitted paperwork to the FCC to allow their analog signals to "go silent" after the original deadline.

The rabbitears.info web site has an updated list on TV stations prepared to terminate their analog broadcasts:
Analog Termination Possibilities

[reiella]

Originally Posted by HorrorHead

I work for a tv station and we are going ahead with the transition on the 17th. We are running PSA's so viewers know it's going to happen. It costs more to transmit in analog and because everyone thought the transition was a go, paying the additional cost for analog was never put into this year's budget. I imagine this is going to happen at a lot of stations across the country, especially smaller markets. Layoffs are happening industry wide. Advertising dollars are scarce. The money isn't there to hold off.

Washington is in a similar blight, looking ~ 20 to 30k a month for each station. Course, none of them want to be the first ones to turn off, too big of a risk.

Originally Posted by DavidAg02

I thought TV is a luxury. Why are they delaying the switch for more funding of converter boxes?

I think our government has better things to do than sit around debating how our TV signals get broadcast.

TV is actually considered a necessity by HUD now.

[Bobby Henderson]

The rabbitears.info site link I provided is now stating its analog shutdown possibilities list "is now outdated due to new FCC rules released as of 02/05/09 and will be updated soon. Please be patient."

Basically it sounds like the many TV stations who already filed paperwork with the FCC to shutdown analog broadcasts on 2/17 will have to do so again and get the paperwork re-submitted before Monday, February 9. Otherwise they'll be waiting until late March before they can do any early termination of analog broadcasts.

Also, the FCC can stop any station from shutting off analog broadcasts after Feb. 17 if they think too many people in that viewing market will be adversely affected. The only outs local TV stations will have against an FCC judgment is declaring financial hardship from crushing electrical bills and/or having to repair/maintain very old analog transmission equipment.

What's also particularly screwed up is stations shutting off analog broadcasts after Feb. 17 cannot move to their permanent DTV channel assignments until after June 12. And that may severely limit the ability of some stations to ramp up their DTV signals to full power before then.

This is some really stupid legislation and it's going to be funny in a pathetic way in the pretty likely event the President and certain members of Congress ask for yet another delay.