There was a little bit of good news for some consumers about the looming nationwide transition to digital television broadcasting, which is now less than two months away.
In an unexpected move, the nation’s major cable television operators have agreed to stop moving nearly all channels from analog to digital tiers during the first two months of 2009. In a letter to members of Congress, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said the action is aimed at reducing potential consumers confusion about the federally-mandated shut-off of over-the-air analog TV signals on February 17th.
Consumers Union, the sponsor of this blog, has been critical of the recent trend among cable companies to shift programming from low-cost, basic tiers to higher-priced digital tiers. In many cases, consumers were paying more to get the same channels due to the programming shifts.
Making matters worse, the programming shifts were coming amid an already highly confusing backdrop created by the run up to the nationwide shift to digital broadcasting. Many consumers were confused, thinking that one was related to the other.
In addition, many cable operators say they will offer a low-cost basic tier as a one-year promotion so long as consumers sign up for a plan by June 30th.
The cable industry plan also for NCTA members to offer analog-only subscribers a free set-top box or adapter to view analog channels that have been moved to digital. The device is free for one year for analog-only consumers who request one by June 30th.
It’s good to see the cable industry step up with this plan, but there are still huge problems looming for consumers in dealing with the DTV transition.
One of the biggest problems is the $1.5 billion program run by NTIA to provide $40 coupons toward the purchase of converter boxes to make older, analog televisions capable of picking up over-the-air digital signals. Under the program, households are eligible to receive two of the $40 coupons that can be applied toward the purchase of converter boxes, which generally range in price from $50 to $150.
The coupons are indeed helpful for consumers, but they unfortunately come with a 90-day expiration date. Worse, households that got coupons that expired cannot reapply for new ones. That might not sound that unfair were it not for the fact that supplies of converter boxes have been uneven at best, particularly the lowest-cost models.
Making matters worse is the fact that the people who depend on free, over-the-air television are disproportionately senior citizens, low-income households and/or minorities. Many aren’t tech savvy and are going to probably need individual help in buying, installing and programming their converter boxes.
Even if the coupon program were working well, the switchover is going to be much more complicated and expensive for millions of consumers than government and industry officials are letting on.
Many consumers will discover they cannot receive the free over-the-air channels they now get, including their local network and public television stations. Many will need expensive new antennas and even then they might lose some channels, especially in hilly areas or even in big cities with lots of tall buildings.
The incoming Obama administration has said it will make the DTV transition a top priority, but it’s difficult to see how much it can do since it will take office with less than a month to go until the switchover.
The FCC had been scheduled to hold a public hearing today to tackle a number of complicated issues not involving the DTV transition, but decided to cancel that meeting after a couple of powerful members of Congress told the agency to clear the decks and step up its efforts on the switchover.
That is a heartening development, but simply canceling the meeting was the easy part.
