SAN DIEGO - Despite a government extension for the shutdown of analog TV signals hundreds of stations say they will still make the transition come this Tuesday.
Because it is costly to keep broadcasting analog signals, nearly 500 stations say they will make the switch this month and not June 12 -- the Federal Communications Commission's new deadline. The FCC has gotten about 43 stations to halt the switch on Tuesday but the others plan to move forward.
It means TV viewers like Isidro Diaz of San Diego who surfs channels on his old television about three hours a night will have an even more limited number of programs to watch. Diaz, who recently lost his job says eventually he'll come up with $200 for a digital television.
The Obama administration sought the delay in the analog TV shutdown after the government ran out of money for the $40 coupons that subsidize digital converter boxes. The program has a waiting list of 4 million coupons; each household can get up to two.
Source: The Associated Press
