TV Worth Blogging
by David Thiel, Program Director for WILL-TV
An insider's view of public television programming and the issues that help determine what and how you watch
Resetting the Countdown Clock
On Wednesday, President Obama signed into law a delay to the previously announced analog television shut-off "hard" date. Instead of February 17, all U.S. TV broadcasters are now mandated to turn off their analog transmitters on June 12. This change was made in response to concerns over the long waiting list for digital converter box coupons, as well as surveys which suggest that millions of Americans are not yet ready for the switch.
However that doesn't mean that all broadcasters will be waiting those extra four months...
To the contrary, 491 television stations had filed with the FCC that they intended to turn off their analog transmitters on February 17 regardless of any delay. Many were reportedly doing so because of the extra expense involved in powering and maintaining a second transmitter for four additional months. Yesterday, the FCC allowed 368 of them to pull the plug. The other 123 have been denied, as many were in markets where all of the commercial stations planned to go dark.
In the Champaign-Decatur-Springfield, Illinois market, WICD/WICS (ABC), WAND (NBC), WRSP/WCCU (Fox), WBUI (CW) and WEIU (PBS) will turn off their analog signals February 17 at midnight (actually the morning of February 18). WILL intends to continue an analog broadcast until further notice, as do WSEC (PBS), WCIA (CBS) and WCFN (My Network). In the nearby Peoria-Bloomington, Illinois market, only WHOI (ABC) will transmit in analog after the 17th. (WILL's coverage area does include the Bloomington-Normal area, and analog-only viewers there should still receive our signal for now.)
So, instead of a single, national termination date, there will now be more of a rolling shut-off. It's certainly possible that additional stations will announce their own early end dates prior to June 12, especially in cases in which aging transmitters fail.
At WILL, we'll do our best to stay on top of the changes and keep our viewers informed of our own plans. The most important thing to remember is that it's highly unlikely there'll be a second delay. If you haven't already taken the necessary steps to receive digital television, you still need to do so. The early shut-offs next Wednesday morning may well serve as a reminder.
back to the main {blog_title} page
Post a comment on this entry: