25% Of TV Stations Stay With Digital Plans

Despite Wish Of Obama Administration, TV Stations Intend To Shut Down Analog Service In Mid-Feb.

(AP)  More than a quarter of major U.S. TV stations intend to shut down their analog broadcasts on Feb. 17, sticking to the original date despite the wish of the Obama administration that they delay until June.

Congress last week gave TV stations until June 12 to shut down analog broadcasts, hoping to give viewers more time to prepare. Money has run out for the federal fund that subsidizes converter boxes, and there's a wait list for the coupons.

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that 491 of the 1,796 full-power TV stations in the country say they intend to keep the Feb. 17 date. The FCC has reserved the right to deny individual stations an early shutdown.

[travlyn]

If you subscribe to any programming provider, then you don''t have to worry about converting. You can still use an analog TV since the signal conversion is being handled by the cable box, satelite box, etc. It is a choice not to upgrade to digital, not a requirement. If we lived in a more socialistic country, then they would "provide" everything by taxing you even more and making everyone equals. It worked well for the Communists.

[barbaram99]

It I lived in area where over the air digital TV won''t work dues things out of my control,,I would be pissed. I have seen the ads. It works in the big cite..I grew up in the sticks..Digital TV is not going to reach every one, They need to fix that.

[godseyesore-2009]

tominoue, lwilli201, rational_1, andsab, et.al.: For those of us in rural areas with topography or interference that we have no control over, buying the box has made things worse! I''m being forced to spend lots of money to setup internet TV access, or cut a huge number of trees for satellite which becomes even more costly. Additionally, some workmates have been waiting since fall to be able to get converters but still not available. All of the smug comments about the who has or hasn''t switched, or the timing thereof, just shows unwarranted, silly arrogance and myopic thinking.

[theoldbag-2009]

Remember, the number of viewers still on analog is an estimate made by the FCC - an agency of our government who hasn''t exhibited a particularly stellar history of guessing right. My bet is on 12 June there will still be the same number of analog viewers.

[andsab]

wny14127,

Dido!

[rational_1]

One way to speedy change-over is no signal.
Posted by geneonlbk at 07:28 AM : Feb 11, 2009

Exactly - come on, we''ve known this is coming for the better part of a decade. If ya can''t put down your Cheetos and get your lard-*** off the couch to do something about this, given you''ve had only several years of warning, you deserve to lose your signal. A delay will make no difference - they lazy slobs will just lose their signals later rather than sooner.

[geneonlbk]

One way to speedy change-over is no signal.

[barbaram99]

I am ready..I am a poor person. I think once the analog side is shut down be it Feb 17/June 12 and they are not ready..They will do some thing when it is shut down..They eill if they wish to see TV. GET READY..I have the rabbit ears on my TV. I qas glad to gotten rid of the old CRT TV, I could not watch it. I had to got to a plat panel. I use a TV turn table, It will change over.

[lwilli201]

Most of the major network stations are not shutting down, especially in the large markets and it IS because they are worried about losing viewers. The smaller stations do not have the revenue to operate 2 transmitters which cost many thousands a month. Since the small station probably have a low percentage of the viewing audience anyway, the percentage of those that are not ready would be very small. Also the major (liberal)networks are bowing to Obama''s wishes by not shutting down any O&O stations which is forcing other stations to hold off for fear of losing viewers. Kudos to those shutting down.

[wny14127]

Let the ones who want to convert go ahead. It''s not the job of government to worry about who has or hasn''t converted. Everyone was offered the boxes and many took them. For those who did not, too freakin'' bad.
And which idiot decided that lack of TV is a civil rights violation? The people who now claim they were not aware of the change must not have been watching TV for the past 2 years. Too bad, I have no pity for lazy dummies.

[ocasanas]

This is what''s going to happen: Stations gone totally digital will loose viewership because people will have done nothing to change from analog to digital since other analog channels still exist.