The Government Interrupts This Program ...

(CBS)  Next month, tens of millions of Americans may be watching static on their older TV sets. That's because of the government mandated switch to digital broadcasting - 69 million television sets in use today won't get the signal - and because a federal coupon program to provide converter boxes is on the rocks.

That will leave nearly 20 million American households without TV, unless they upgrade, which as CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports, is easier said than done.

Christine Higby of Taylorsville, Utah, is one of the millions of Americans whose televisions will stop working at midnight on February 17 without a converter box.

"I just don't understand it," Higby said.

People with new TVs bought after 2004, or with cable or satellite services need not worry. But households who get their signals the old fashioned way, over the airwaves, will need a $50-$80 converter box. The problem is that the billion-dollar federal program to help people buy the boxes with $40 coupons has run out of money; and people like Higby are running out of time.

"I guess they just miscalculated how many people would want converter boxes," Higby said.

Just as the economic downturn has people foregoing expensive purchases like new TVs, government aid to buy converter boxes dries up. Those hardest hit are the elderly, the poor and rural Americans. And the government isn't very sympathetic, Whitaker reports.

"If they do not get their coupon in time, we recommend that they either buy a converter box without a coupon, buy another television, or connect to cable, satellite or another pay television service," says Meredith Atwell Baker, with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

That indifference doesn't sit too well with consumer advocates.

"It's very unfortunate that the federal government has mandated that this switch happen and then not help them through this transition," says Joel Kelsey of the Consumers' Union.

Going digital, with its crisper image, is the most revolutionary change since TV went color and no amount of fidgeting with rabbit ears will help. Public Service Announcements have raised awareness. Consumer Reports found that 90 percent of Americans know of the transition, but it also found 25 percent mistakenly believe they must have cable or satellite and 41 percent mistakenly think every TV must have a converter box.

But with the waiting list for the coupon program backlogged six weeks and with only five weeks to go until the switch, it's already too late for millions of Americans to avoid interruption of their regularly scheduled programming, Whitaker reports.

[barbaram99]

What it is we have been watching analog TV all our lives. NTSC format. Now it will be ATSC format. Ye need an ATSC tuner. Have seen the ads on TV. They say the analog NTSC system will shut down and to most it is scarey, If yer TV has a built in ATSC tuner yer fine. If it is only NTSC it dies that day. In order to use the NTSC/analog ye need a box or get on cable/sat TV. Most only use over the air. So a new TV well is too costly. I have told my parenets and they on cable.

[tucson23]

"I just don''t understand it," Higby said. "I guess they just miscalculated how many people would want converter boxes," Higby said. Um, perhaps you should have paid some attention to the thousands of television commercials on this subject that have been on in the past year, and perhaps you should have applied for a coupon when you had a chance, instead of waiting until there''s one month to go. I have no sympathy for i*d*i*o*t*s. Your understanding of good public communications policy is not required, just that you pay a modicum of attention to what''s going on in the world.

[rrozsa-2009]

So Uncle Sam ran out of money to make coupons. My understanding is that tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of coupons mailed out have not been used. Do you wonder why?

What governmental brilliant idea was it to put a 90 day time limit for their use? When I ordered my coupons at the first opportunity, June 2008 I believe it was, no mention was made of a time limit.

Now I open the envelope and find the coupons are of no value, and, I am not allowed to order more. I don''''t need them but ordered them to give to some senior citizen that might need at last moment.

------------------------Posted by newsbreak2 at 09:13 AM : Jan 07, 2009

===================

You would think, since there was a time limit on the coupons sent out earlier, and many have not been redeemed, that they could go ahead and keep sending out new ones. They don''t have to pay for the ones that were never used, except the printing cost, which shouldn''t be much.

This must have been headed up by the same brilliant folks who run FEMA.

[bluegrotto-2009]

It''s their own fault for procrastinating. I got my coupons months ago. And on the website it clearly stated that you should get them as soon as possible because coupons WILL run out. They never pretended to have enough for everyone who wanted one in the country. They outright stated that demand would be higher than the supply, so hurry up and get them. So I feel little sympathy for those who waited until the last minute.

[sherpes]

after seeing this story air on Jan 6, went to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase a converter, but they were out. Also, the shelf set aside for the converter boxes is tucked on the corner, away from they aisles. It is definitely a low priority for this retail store.

[sherpes]

after seeing this story air on Jan 6, went to the nearest Wal-Mart to purchase a converter, but they were out. Also, the shelf set aside for the converter boxes is tucked on the corner, away from they aisles. It is definitely a low priority for this retail store.

[wmn]

Re : Converter coupons and the US Government.
So Uncle Sam ran out of money to make coupons. My understanding is that tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of coupons mailed out have not been used. Do you wonder why?

What governmental brilliant idea was it to put a 90 day time limit for their use? When I ordered my coupons at the first opportunity, June 2008 I believe it was, no mention was made of a time limit.

Now I open the envelope and find the coupons are of no value, and, I am not allowed to order more. I don''t need them but ordered them to give to some senior citizen that might need at last moment.

It appears as though every word and deed coming from the US Government now is worthless.

[wmn]

Re : Converter coupons and the US Government.
So Uncle Sam ran out of money to make coupons. My understanding is that tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of coupons mailed out have not been used. Do you wonder why?

What governmental brilliant idea was it to put a 90 day time limit for their use? When I ordered my coupons at the first opportunity, June 2008 I believe it was, no mention was made of a time limit.

Now I open the envelope and find the coupons are of no value, and, I am not allowed to order more. I don''t need them but ordered them to give to some senior citizen that might need at last moment.

It appears as though every word and deed coming from the US Government now is worthless.

[omnibus66]

Even if you have a digital TV or a converter box, you may still lose the signal. The digital signals do not travel as far as the analog signals currently, since they are in the UHF, rather than in the VHF band.

If you live more than about 20 miles from the broadcast tower, you will probably have to invest in an expensive antenna, and if you are more than 40 miles away, forget it. If you want to watch TV, get ready to pay for cable or satellite.

We, the people, have once again been steamrolled by our government.

[rf35]

If people didn''t get it by now, then maybe they are too stupid to be allowed to watch TV.