Now that President Barack Obama is settled in, his administration’s push to delay the transition from analog broadcast television to digital is in full swing. Senate Republicans, who initially didn’t support the DTV delay, now favor pushing the transition from Feb. 17 to June 12. The Senate is expected to vote next week and the House soon after.
The reintroduced DTV Delay Act, pushed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), still keeps the June 12 date, but now allows broadcast stations to switch to digital signals before June 12.
The bill would also allow consumers who have expired coupons for converter boxes to apply for new coupons. If approved, the deadline to apply for a coupon would move from March 31 to July 31.
“I am pleased that Chairman Rockefeller worked with me to address many of the concerns with the early proposals,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas). “These changes will help consumers whose coupons have expired and allow TV stations that are prepared and ready to move forward without the requirement of simulcasting.”
Before his inauguration, Obama and his aides asked Congress to delay the change after being told by the National Telecommunication Information Administration (NTIA) that funding for the $1.34 billion digital converter box coupon program had run out.
Carlos Gutierrez, then secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, quickly responded with a letter to Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) saying the department and the NTIA were ready for the transition. Gutierrez said awareness of the transition moved from less than 40 percent of Americans to nearly 97 percent in two years.
The NTIA was tight-lipped on the situation because “no secretary of commerce has been either nominated or confirmed,” according to Bart Forbes, a spokesperson for the NTIA. “Also, no NTIA administrator has either been nominated or confirmed.”