For perhaps the first time in a long, long while, I agreed with action taken by House Republicans. They were the driving force in defeating a bill to delay the DTV switch, which had already passed in the Senate.
The measure’s proponents, including the Obama administration, argue that switching off the analog TV signals is going to leave too many people without programming. The Associated Press says Nielson estimates 6.5 million households will not be ready for the switch.
Where have those 6.5 million households been for the last 15 months? If you have a television, and watch it even occasionally, how could you miss the nearly incessant warnings that his was going to happen. The Feb. 17 date has been in print ads, TV/radio ads, newspaper stories and promos done by network TV stars. Did they stutter? Did you think they were kidding?
The bill would have pushed the transition back to June, when presumably more people would be “ready” for the switch. What good is giving four extra months to people who couldn’t get prepared with years of notice? As I read somewhere this morning, the only way to truly get those 6.5 million people to take the necessary action is to go through with the switch. When they lose their signal on Feb. 17, you can be sure they’ll get a digital converter box that very day.
Lost in the overall debate is the cost to TV stations. Congress mandated the change, one that cost stations all over the countries boatloads of money to enact. Right now they are all paying to broadcast both digital and analog signals, and certainly expected to be able to shut off the analog transmitter on Feb. 17. Now they have to continue paying for the simulcasting. In a time of already stretched budgets, that means having to cut costs elsewhere.
So if you missed the message…DTV IS COMING FEB. 17. IF YOU GET YOUR TELEVISION THROUGH AN ANALOG ANTENNA, YOU NEED TO GET A DIGITAL CONVERTER BOX IN ORDER TO CONTINUE GETTING TV. NO BOX=NO TV. GO. NOW!!!!!!!! As mentioned in the ads, for more information visit DTVAnswers.com. NOW!