Director's Cut Blog with Frank Macek

Editor's Note: The House of Representatives, by a 264-to-158 vote, today ended the debate over whether the country is ready for the digital TV transition with a clear "no." It sent to President Obama legislation for a "one-time only delay" that would postpone the digital transition from Feb. 17 until June 12th. Now, if the President signs it, the next question will be what will Nielsen do about the February book that was moved to March? Stay tuned on this one. ---- WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congress has now decided to give people four more months to prepare for the upcoming transition from analog to digital TV broadcasting. The House voted Wednesday to postpone the end of analog TV signals until June 12. The move is meant to address concerns that more than 6.5 million Americans with older TVs would not be ready by Feb. 17, the originally mandated deadline. The House took up the question last week but under a special procedure that required more than a ...

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says President Barack Obama will sign a bill to give consumers more time to get ready for the switch from analog to digital television broadcasts. The switch under current law is set for Feb. 17. The Senate earlier this week passed the bill to delay that until June, but it failed in the House under a procedure that required a two-thirds vote for passage. The Senate passed the bill again Thursday night, and the House plans to take another run at it next week under regular procedures. That means a simple majority vote is required. Gibbs said Obama will sign the bill because he wants more time to ensure that people don't lose their television signals. Source: The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- People who have not gotten their TV sets ready for the changeover to digital signals could earn a four-month reprieve under a bill making its way through Congress. The Senate voted Monday to delay until June 12 the deadline for the changeover from analog to digital television broadcasting. People still getting their pictures through old-fashioned antennas otherwise would face a Feb. 17 cutoff. Comparable legislation is being readied in the House, and the Obama administration has called for a delay amid mounting concerns that too many Americans who rely on over-the-air broadcast signals won't be ready. It's estimated that more than 6.5 million U.S. households are still not prepared for the upcoming transition. Courtesy: The Associated Press

More than 6.5 million U.S. households -- or 5.7 percent of all homes -- are not ready for the upcoming transition to all-digital broadcasting and would be unable to receive any television programming at all if the transition occurred today, the Nielsen Company reported Thursday. That translates into 5.7 percent of all U.S. households. In the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area in Ohio, Nielsen says 5.91 percent of households are not ready. In Columbus, that number is 4.29 percent and in Dayton, that number is 6.88 percent. Under government-mandated action, all television stations are required to switch to digital programming by February 17, 2009, which will leave viewers without a television signal unless they purchase digital television sets, connect to cable, satellite, and alternate delivery systems or purchase a converter box. For information or to learn about the converter box, contact DTV Answers online or call (888) DTV-2009. Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with electro...

Senate negotiators reached an agreement today to take action on altering the digital TV changeover. The move could have legislation before the Senate as soon as Friday, according to several Senate aides.

By Frank Macek We've waited for this big day - February 17, 2009, for basically 12 years since the idea of digital broadcasting and high definition television was decided upon as the next logical step in our wonderful world of broadcasting. Less than a month to go, lawmakers are being asked to postpone that mandate until at least June 12th. Broadcasters are not happy. The number one concern of the President-elect is to ensure that everyone who needs $40 coupons to purchase analog to digital converter boxes have the ability to get them after the funds that Congress appropriated ran out. For those that have waited, will June 12th make any difference? Probably not. Most of the consumers who are complaining waited too long. Many of the consumers who requested coupons never used them. Most of the consumers feel it's their right to free tv. I have yet to read in the Constitution where people have the right to get television signals delivered in their homes at no cost to them. We cert...