The US Senate, on Thursday, looked all set to pass the bill that will delay, until June 12, the date when television stations must start airing in all-digital format.
The Feb. 17 deadline for all TV stations by law to stop broadcasting their programs in analog format, was not logical, according to the Democrats, who felt that 'too many Americans still rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals, and they won't be ready for the transition'.
On Thursday, the Nielsen Co. revealed that "more than 6.5 million U. S. households are still not prepared for the upcoming transition and could see their TV sets go dark next month".
On the contrary, Republicans argue that the delay would confuse consumers, create added costs for television stations; they would have to continue airing both analog and digital signals.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John D. Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, and the author of the bill to delay the switchover, said, "The shameful truth is that we are not poised to do this transition right. We are only weeks away from doing it dreadfully wrong - and leaving consumers with the consequences."
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Delay the Transition?
If the government wants to delay the transition, so be it. But they really only should put it off until spring, not summer, and they should consider allowing stations to go ahead and switch if they are going to occupy the channel they are currently broadcasting in analog. I also believe that stations should not be mandated to be left on because it might be horribly expensive to keep both signals running. And that would certainly put a strain on alot of stations budgets.