Link (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=6736599)

I had a feeling that was going to happen.

what happens to station's that shurt down there analog channel WVUE TV has already shurt down there analog channel.

what happens to station's that shurt down there analog channel WVUE TV has already shurt down there analog channel.

The stations that have already switched will continue broadcasting in digital. The extension is to allow any stations that haven't more time to do so along with the general public. The coupon program may also be extended but I'm not sure.

It only passed the Senate. Just remember, it must be passed by the House and have President Obama sign it to become law.

It only passed the Senate. Just remember, it must be passed by the House and have President Obama sign it to become law.

You're right, That part totally slipped my mind. If it doesn't pass then someone can delete the thread. I have edited the thread title and thanks for reminding me of this.

It's so ridiculous, but it will happen because of the current political climate. I just don't get how people can't be prepared. The local stations have been running nonstop reminders for months.

from what I heard tonight on my 9:00 pm news PBS Station's want that DTV Switch to happen on Feburary 17, 2009 as schedule.

It only passed the Senate. Just remember, it must be passed by the House and have President Obama sign it to become law.

Obama will sign it. He is all for the change to happen in June. The House of Reps. will probably sign it, too. It looks like this will happen. Waste of money and time for the Feb. 17 stuff. Now this will mark utter confusion. It is estimated that over 6 million people are still not ready. This would affect CBS more than anyone, lol.

What will happen to The Feburary Ratings Sweeps Period now that they might delay DTV

There is no February sweeps this year! It is in March and will remain in March no matter what happens.

^Wait, is that a crack about old people, Pav? just you wait,you young whippersnapper......it's coming to get you too :lol:

LOL, no, it's a stab at Nielsen really. Their sampling is very skewed (believe me, I have seen ample evidence). If the change happens on Feb. 17, you'll notice drastic ratings changes on one network especially. And the stuff I'm talking about is Cold Case, NCIS, etc. lol, not Survivor, Big Bang, Mother.

^ oh ok......wait, you mean to tell me that 19 million people really aren't watching The Mentalist? :lol:

I find that hard to believe, but only 25-30% of its audience is under 49 lol. You saw some indication of that after that NFL game last week when it did below normal in viewers but way higher in 18-49. If Nielsen wants to measure how people watch TV, they need to measure every household and not select homes that skew one way. Sorry just my gripe. Back to the transition to DTV...

^ oh ok......wait, you mean to tell me that 19 million people really aren't watching The Mentalist? :lol:
:rofl:

This will definitely lead to confusion, but if people aren't ready, it's something they have to do. Although, how could people not be ready for the digital transition by this point in time??-LOL

And Pavan, nice crack about CBS - they've been doing phenomenal this season, but the 6 million not ready (likely old-timers) could definitely put a hold on their ratings-wins.

Like I said before, hold on, because the House has not voted yet, and the Republicans are holding things up.

Republicans Ask for Delay to DTV Vote
The DTV delay bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent late Monday

Jan 27, 2009

-By Katy Bachman

In a last ditch effort to keep the Feb. 17 digital TV transition deadline, Republican lawmakers asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Tuesday (Jan. 27) to call off the vote on the bill to delay the DTV transition until June 12.

The DTV delay bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent late Monday.

In a letter to Pelosi dated Tuesday, Jan. 27, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) and Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) asked Pelosi not to bring the Senate bill to the House floor under a suspension of the rules.

"Further delaying the DTV transition deadline will confuse consumers without clearing the waiting list, jeopardize public safety and wireless broadband spectrum, cost broadcasters and industry a fortune in additional preparations, and engender further spending of at least $650 million in the stimulus package to pick up the pieces," wrote Barton and Stearns.

As an alternative, Barton introduced a bill last week that would authorize $250 million to allow the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to immediately begin distributing coupons. The NTIA ran out of funds in early January, which forced it to put 2 million consumers on waiting list and prompting Democratic lawmakers to call for a delay.

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/local-broadcast/e3idb2c398ada1252b78216c0cfadb53e82

For now we have 20 day's until the switch happens.

For now we have 20 day's until the switch happens.

Correct. There is a good chance it does not pass the House. If it gets held up in the House the February 17 date stays the same.

I hope that it does not pass

According to ABC News The Switch will happen on Feburary 17, 2009 at 12:01 am CT Time.

YAY, there are still sane people in Washington. I'm pretty shocked but so happy. I couldn't take 4 more months of the ENDLESS tickers and ads about it. :rolleyes:

you should have seen my face when I got the news from ABC News

i just want it to be OVER :crying:

Link (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/01/digital-tv-de-1.html)

Dire reports are out today declaring the death of attempts by the new government to delay next month's nationwide switch to digital TV. The House failed to pass a bill that would postpone the switch from Feb. 17 to June 12.

The Washington Post calls that "a setback for the Obama administration", as does the Associated Press, which says the bill was defeated.

But don't read too much into the move. Supporters of the delay still expect it to pass as soon as next week.

The measure, which the Senate approved Monday, needed a two-thirds majority to pass the House on an expedited basis. Strong Republican opposition prevented the fast-tracking. But normal rules require only a simple majority, and the bill received that and more. The House vote was 258-168 in favor of a delay.

Rep. Rick Boucher, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the House telecommunications subcommittee, told me he was optimistic the chamber would agree to President Obama's request and vote to put off the digital transition until June so about 6.5 million viewers won't lose their TV signals next month.

“The likelihood is we’ll come back next week” and pass it, he said.

A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat, said she was looking for a way to hold the vote soon.

Link (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/04/BU5L15N8V6.DTL)

Television viewers who rely on sets with antennas to pick up their broadcast signals have about four extra months to get ready for the nation's switch to digital TV.

The House of Representatives voted 264 to 158 today to move back the Feb. 17 deadline to June 12, sending the fast-tracked legislation to President Obama, who has promised to sign it. The vote, largely along party lines, gives approximately 6.5 million unprepared households more time to prepare for the day when all analog TV broadcasts are turned off.

"We are not ready for this transition," said U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, during the House debate. "We can fix these problems and minimize this catastrophe if we pass this legislation."

The Senate first passed the bill unanimously last week and then resubmitted it after a corresponding House vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Wednesday's House vote required a simple majority.

Consumers who rely on traditional over-the-air broadcasts will need to upgrade to a pay TV service such as cable or satellite, use a TV with a digital tuner or buy a converter box for their older analog television sets.

The bill passed by the House does not include new money for a federal program aimed at providing viewers $40 coupons toward a converter box, which can cost $40 to $80. The program has dispensed its allotment of $1.34 billion worth of coupons and is waiting for unused coupons - good for 90 days - to expire before issuing new vouchers.

About 3.5 million requests are now on the waiting list. The new legislation also allows consumers to reapply for a coupon if their vouchers have expired.

Obama's stimulus package includes $650 million for the converter box coupons, but Republicans argued the money will not be available for weeks if not months.

Opponents of the delay said the new transition date only adds more confusion, delays the handover of old spectrum to emergency first responders and doesn't come with money of its own for the coupon program. Some Republicans took issue with the Democrats' streamlined approval process for the bill, which prevented representatives from amending the legislation and adding funding for the coupons.

"We're delaying a hard transition today without any additional money or any way to send out additional coupons," said Joe Barton of Texas, the top Republican on the House Commerce Committee. "How silly is that?"

The delay does not mean every station will continue to broadcast in analog. Broadcasters will be permitted to shut off their analog transmission before June 12. That creates a potential uneven transition for analog viewers, who might still lose some channels, depending on what local stations decide to do.

Despite that scenario, proponents said the delay was necessary to not only disburse more coupons but also help educate them about issues that arise from the transition.

"We knew there was going to be some challenges moving forward even if the date is moved, but this allows ut so get more information and assistance to folks," said Mark Lloyd, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund.

For more information about the transition to digital TV, go to www.dtv.gov, or call 1 (888) 388-2009.

NO

i'm sorry but if you have a TV and have turned it on at least a couple of times in the past five years YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE READY FOR THIS.

I am ready it just that my Brother does not have cable in his room right now.

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported that this vote means each TV station can decide if they will switch over on February 17 but must by June 12.. One Rochester station said that it will still go by the February date while the others have not decided.. ????

my Local FOX Affiliate is still saying Feburary 17, 2009 as The Day to Switch to DTV

I just fround out that some of my Local Station's are still going to drop there analog station's on Feburary 17, 2009 at 12:00 am CT Time.

641 Stations Make DTV Switch
421 stations join the 220 that already made the change

Feb 17, 2009

NEW YORK Today, 421 full-power TV stations terminated analog signals and made the switch to digital broadcasting, according to the Federal Communications Commission, which released final figures Monday.

The 421 join the 220 stations that have already made the DTV transition.

Even though the government moved the DTV deadline from Feb. 17 to June 12, hundreds of stations notified the FCC that they would prefer to stick to the earlier date. Not all stations that made the request were allowed go on the 17th. Of the 491 that filed with the FCC, 123 were determined by the commission to potentially cause "public interest harms" unless they met certain conditions.

Following a second filing, 53 were cleared by the FCC to make the DTV transition.

In total, about 36 percent of all TV stations have made the transition to digital. A number of the major-market affiliate groups and the network owned-and-operated stations of ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have indicated that they would honor the new June 12 deadline.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i096e104f4db9a3d2f52df59083c970b9

Any station's in Alamba make The Switch today

Any station's in Alamba make The Switch today

PBS statewide and my local CW station are switching at 11:59 tonight. Several Huntsville, Montgomery, and Mobile stations also switched but the biggest market Birmingham mostly is waiting(ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX anyway).

all of my Local Station's will do the switch on June4 12, 2009.