GetWiki

{{short description|2009 switchover in the U.S. from analog to digital broadcasting of TV programming}}{{Further|Digital television transition}}{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}{{Multiple issues|{{update|date=January 2024}}{{Copy edit|date=January 2024}}{{Lead too long|date=April 2024}}}}The digital transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. According to David Rehr, then president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, this transition represented "the most significant advancement of television technology since color TV was introduced."WEB,weblink Broadcasters Prepare For DTV Transition, January 7, 2008, March 23, 2008, Twice (magazine), TWICE,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081216135458weblink">weblink December 16, 2008, dead, For full-power TV stations, the transition went into effect on June 12, 2009, with stations ending regular programming on their analog signals no later than 11:59 p.m. local time that day.WEB, ATSC SALUTES THE 'PASSING' OF NTSC,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090620084429weblink">weblink NTSC, June 20, 2009, June 13, 2009, dead, Under the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, full-power broadcasting of analog television in the United States was initially planned to have ceased after February 17, 2009. To help U.S. consumers through the conversion, the Act also established a federally sponsored DTV Converter Box Coupon Program.{{fact|date=September 2022}}The DTV Delay Act changed the mandatory analog cutoff date to June 12, 2009, although stations were permitted to cease analog transmissions before the new mandatory cutoff date. The legislation was passed by both houses of Congress by February 4, 2009, and on February 11, 2009, US President Barack Obama signed it into law.{{USBill|111|S.|352|pipe=S. 352, "A bill to postpone the DTV transition date."}} The purpose of the extension was to help the millions of households who had not been able to get their coupons for converters because demand for coupons exceeded the funding provided for in the initial bill, leaving millions on a waiting list to receive coupons. Funding for extra coupons was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. By midnight on the original cut-off date of February 17, 2009, 641 stations representing 36 percent of U.S. full-power broadcasters were transmitting exclusively in digital.PRESS RELEASE, DTV Call Centers Field Over 28,000 Calls Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission, February 18, 2009,weblink February 18, 2009,weblink 26 January 2018, dead, Analog broadcasting did not cease entirely following the June 12, 2009 deadline: under the provisions of the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act, approximately 120 full-power stations briefly maintained analog "nightlight" service usually displaying a program about the DTV transition, ending no later than July 12, 2009.WEB,weblinkweblink 9 August 2021, dead, 1 November 2023, Updated List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program, Federal Communications Commission, In a separate category, low power television stations were permitted to continue analog broadcasts for several more years.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On July 15, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) posted the required transition deadlines for low-power television stations. Stations broadcasting on channels 52 to 69 were required to vacate those channels by December 31, 2011, and all analog television transmitters (primarily low-powered (LP), and Class-A low-powered (-CA) stations, and also broadcast translator (TX) (repeaters in rural communities)) were required to shut down by September 1, 2015.WEB,weblink FCC 11–110 Second Report and Order, July 23, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20120314024932weblink">weblink March 14, 2012, dead, Federal Communications Commission, On April 24, 2015, it was announced that the conversion date for standard LPTVs and translators still broadcasting in analog had been suspended until further notice, due to economic problems that might have arisen from the then-upcoming spectrum auction, however, Class A low-powered stations were still required to convert by the original deadline date of September 1, 2015.WEB,weblink FCC Public Notice: "SUSPENSION OF SEPTEMBER 1, 2015 DIGITAL TRANSITION DATE FOR LOW POWER TELEVISION AND TV TRANSLATOR STATIONS", 24 April 2015, 1 November 2023,weblink 2 August 2023, dead, Federal Communications Commission, After the auction's completion in 2017, the FCC announced on May 17 of that year that all analog low-power stations and transmitters must have converted by July 13, 2021.WEB,weblink FCC Public Notice The incentive auction task force and media bureau announce procedures for low power television, television translator and replacement translator stations during the post-incentive auction transition, 12 May 2017, 1 November 2023,weblink Federal Communications Commission, 1 November 2023, live, NEWS, List, Jenny, End Of An Era: NTSC Finally Goes Dark In America,weblink 1 November 2023, live,weblink Hackaday, July 14, 2021, The transition was eventually completed by January 10, 2022, after the State of Alaska was granted an extension to shut down their analog transmitters after a number of factors impacted their transition to digital television.The transition to digital broadcasts was pushed back several times. Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, with the original transition date being December 31, 2006. However, the transition to digital television was set back three times: first to December 31, 2008, then to February 17, 2009, and then finally to June 12, 2009.JOURNAL, Hart, Jeffery, The Transition to Digital Television in the United States: The Endgame, International Journal of Digital Television, 2011, 1, 1, 7–29, 10.1386/jdtv.1.1.7/1, 143998675,weblink May 29, 2011, All U.S. full-power analog TV broadcasts were required by law to end on June 12, 2009.Section 3002 of the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 amending the Communications Act of 1934, section 309(j)(14), codified at {{uscsub|47|309|j|14}}. Since March 1, 2007, all new television devices that receive signals over-the-air, including pocket-sized portable televisions, personal computer video capture card tuners, and DVD recorders, have been required to include digital ATSC tuners.NEWS,weblink FCC rule requires all new TVs to be digital, The Boston Globe, April 24, 2007, February 26, 2007, Hiawatha, Bray, Prior to this, the requirement was phased-in starting with larger screen sizes. Until the transition was completed, most U.S. broadcasters transmitted their signals in both analog and digital formats, though a few were already digital-only. Digital stations transmitted on another channel, which was assigned to each full-power broadcaster in a three-round digital channel election.{{fact|date=September 2022}}The transition from the analog NTSC format to the digital ATSC format was originally required to be completed on February 17, 2009, as set by Congress in the Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005.WEB,weblink All-Digital Television Is Coming (And Sooner Than You Think!), March 23, 2008, Following the analog switch-off, the FCC reallocated channels 52 through 69 (the 700 MHz band) for other communications traffic,WEB,weblink FCC: Wireless Services: Lower 700 MHz, May 9, 2007, October 28, 2004, Federal Communications Commission, July 28, 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070728060347weblink">weblink dead, completing the reallocation of broadcast channels 52–69 that began in the late 1990s. These channels were auctioned off in early 2008, with the winning bidders taking possession of them in June 2009. Four channels from this portion of the broadcast spectrum (60, 61, 68, and 69) were held for reallocation to public safety communications (such as police, fire, and emergency rescue). Some of the remaining freed up frequencies will be used for advanced commercial wireless services for consumers, such as Qualcomm's planned use of former UHF channel 55 for its MediaFLO service.PRESS RELEASE,weblink FCC Announces Final Assignment of Digital Television Channels, FCC, August 6, 2007, July 6, 2009, October 19, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111019021301weblink">weblink dead, For U.S. cable television, the FCC voted 5–0 on September 12, 2007 to require operators to make local broadcasts available to their users in analog. This requirement lasted until 2012, when the FCC reviewed the case again. This was necessary since many cable companies, including major ones such as Comcast, have been taking analog channels away from customers.NEWS,weblink How the Unknown Digital TV Transition Could Screw You, Perenson, Melissa J., June 5, 2009, PC World (magazine), PC World, June 6, 2009, June 7, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090607063616weblink">weblink dead, In 2007, a bill in the U.S. Congress called the DTV Border Fix Act was introduced. It would have allowed all television stations within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the Mexican border, in areas such as San Diego and the Rio Grande Valley, to keep their analog signals active for another five years. The bill passed the Senate, but did not pass the House.Bill S.2507 (2007), "DTV Border Fix Act of 2007" from OpenCongress.orgThe SAFER Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Bush in December 2008.WEB,weblink President Signs 'Analog Night Light' bill, Lung, Doug, December 24, 2008, TV Technology, May 3, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081227070511weblink">weblink December 27, 2008, dead, The act has been called the "analog nightlight" act, and allows analog stations on channels that did not conflict with post-transition digital stations the option of leaving their analog transmitters on for an additional 30 days, but only to provide disaster information and information regarding the digital transition.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Due to a lack of Commerce Department funds to provide for additional converter box coupons, and on account of other potential problems, the Barack Obama transition team asked Congress in a January 8, 2009 letter to delay the end of analog TV. Gene Kimmelman of Consumers Union, which wanted a delay, feared elderly people, those outside cities, and the poor would lose access to help during a disaster.NEWS, Tessler, Joelle, Obama Team Urges Delay in Digital TV Transition,weblink The Charlotte Observer, January 10, 2009, January 29, 2009, Speaking to a group of area residents as part of a nationwide campaign to persuade people to upgrade, FCC chair Kevin Martin said in Raleigh, North Carolina that a delay was "unlikely," and that it would be "unfair" to all those who made the effort to switch, and to those who bought the reallocated spectrum that was sold with the understanding analog broadcasts would end February 17, 2009.NEWS, Murawski, John, Digital TV Delay Urged,weblink The News & Observer, January 15, 2009, January 15, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090116031452weblink">weblink January 16, 2009, The delay passed Congress despite this prediction (see Extension of transition to June 12).

Transition testing

Wilmington, North Carolina test market

As part of a test by the FCC to iron out transition and reception concerns before the nationwide shutoff, all of the major commercial network stations in the Wilmington, North Carolina market ceased transmission of their analog signals on September 8, 2008, making it the first market in the nation to go digital-only. Wilmington was chosen as the test city in part because the area's digital channel positions would remain unchanged after the transition.NEWS,weblink USA Today, Wilmington, N.C., to test mandatory switch to digital TV, Paul, Davidson, May 8, 2008, May 1, 2010, Wilmington was also appropriate because it had no hills to cause reception problems and all of the stations would have UHF channels.NEWS,weblink

last=Svensson

agency=Associated Press

access-date=October 19, 2010, The low-power CBS affiliate WILM-LD signed on its new digital signal in time for the transition. The test excluded UNC-TV/PBS station WUNJ, which kept their analog signal on, as they were the official conduit of emergency information in the area.StarNewsOnline.com | Star-News | Wilmington, NCViewers were notified of the change by months of public service announcements, town hall meetings, and local news coverage. Only 7% of viewers were affected by the loss of analog broadcasts, the remainder subscribing to cable or satellite services, but this produced 1,800 calls to the FCC for assistance. Officials were concerned by the implications of this for larger markets or those where reliance on over the air broadcasts exceeds 30%.NEWS,weblink Lessons From Wilmington, Albiniack, Paige, Television Broadcast, New Bay media, 8, September 28, 2008, While many calls from viewers were straightforward questions about installation of antennas and converters, or the need to scan for channels before being able to watch digital television, hundreds more were from viewers who had installed converters and UHF antennas correctly but had still lost existing channels. Most affected were full-power broadcasters which had been on low-VHF channels. WECT (NBC 6 Wilmington), a signal which in its analog form reached to the edge of Myrtle Beach, could no longer be received by many who had watched the station for years– a victim of a move to UHF 44 at a different transmitter site. WECT's coverage area had been substantially reduced; for many who were on the fringes of the analog NBC 6 signal, WECT was no more.FCC OKs digital workaround for DTV signal range problems, Matthew Lasar, ArsTechnica, November 11, 2008 However weeks before, new digital-only WMBF-TV, a new NBC affiliate, came to the air to serve Myrtle Beach with a city-grade signal; like WECT, WMBF was owned by Raycom Media at the time.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On November 7, 2008, the FCC issued an order allowing distributed transmission systems to be constructed by stations which otherwise cannot cover their original analog footprint with their new digital channels and facilities.WEB,weblink FCC order on distributed transmission, November 2008, December 14, 2008, October 17, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111017151737weblink">weblink dead, While broadcasters may now apply for DTS facilities, this decision was made far too late to allow the extra transmitter sites to be constructed and operational before the original February 17, 2009 analog shutoff.weblink" title="archive.today/20120711101746weblink">Home Theater News: FCC Green-Lights DTV Range Fix, Mark Fleischmann, November 17, 2008 Legislation On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 bill to end analog television by February 17, 2009.WEB, Katzmaier, David, 2006-02-09, Bush signs DTV bill; analog cutoff February 17, 2009,weblink 2024-03-21, CNET, en, Impact Digital TV encoding allows stations to offer higher definition video and better sound quality than analog, as well as allowing the option of programming multiple digital subchannels (multicasting). However, it provides these advantages at the cost of a severe limitation of broadcast range.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Digital signals do not have 'grade B' signal areas, and are either 'in perfectly' or 'not in at all'. Further, since most stations have preferred to use UHF rather than older VHF channel allocations, their actual broadcast range is far less than previously. Viewers in major metropolitan areas will likely not notice problems; however, rural TV users have generally had most and in some events all of the stations they previously received with acceptable but not 'perfect' signals fall over the digital cliff (where analog signals slowly degrade over long distances rather than digital suddenly cutting off when out of range).{{fact|date=September 2022}}Lastly, many low-power broadcasters have been temporarily permitted to transmit in analog for several years.What is Digital Television? for the public, by DTV Answers. Accessed May 11, 2007. Consumer awareness Although the United Kingdom spent the equivalent of more than a billion dollars educating about 60 million people, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration had received $5 million a year before the original transition date of February 17, 2009, and the FCC had received $2.5 million and was scheduled to receive $20 million more later in the year, for 300 million people, requiring voluntary education campaigns.NEWS,weblink Ready or Not, Here Comes DTV, John, Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable, February 18, 2008, September 10, 2009, It was also noted that low-income, elderly, disabled, inner city, immigrants, and rural Americans were targeted the most, because these groups mainly watch analog antenna TV more than any other groups.Digital Television Transition: Implementation of the Converter Box Subsidy Program Is Under Way, but Preparedness to Manage an Increase in Subsidy Demand Is Unclear United States Government Accountability Office September 16, 2008While broadcasters were forced by Federal Communications Commission regulations to devote the equivalent of more than a billion dollars worth of airtime to public service announcements regarding the digital transition, the amount of information conveyed in these short advertisements was by necessity limited. Both the on-air announcements and government-funded telephone hotlines receiving viewer inquiries directed consumers to Internet sites to seek information,Teletech DTV hotline less than helpful, former employee says{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Rachel Abell, KVIA-TV ABC 7 El Paso, Texas, February 2009 at a time when most affected were not familiar with the Internet. {{fact|date=September 2022}} Obsolete equipment After the switch, consumers' old analog televisions, VCRs, DVRs, and other devices which lacked a digital tuner no longer received over-the-air television, though previously recorded content can still be replayed. The only real solution to the problem was to buy an external tuner (called a converter box) that receives DTV signals directly and converts them to analog for the television, VCR, or other analog device.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Users of analog VCRs, DVRs, or other recording devices which lacked a digital tuner had a unique problem of no longer being able to record programs across multiple channels. In order to record multiple DTV channels, the viewer had to use an external tuner box and set the device to record the output from that box, typically L-1 for the line input. Some manufacturers sold external converter boxes/tuners that automatically changed channels at preset times. The analog VCR or DVR may record at preset times, but will continue recording the L-1 line input, which would be the same channel unless the channel is manually changed.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Alternatively the user may purchase a new TV, DVR, or DVD recorder with a built-in digital tuner. However, these newer technologies have their own drawbacks, such as no way to store programs long-term (DVR) or being limited to only 1–2 hours with high quality XP mode (DVD-R).WEB, Chris, Boylan,weblink Panasonic DMR-EZ27 DVD Recorder, Audaud.com, August 21, 2007, July 6, 2009, Loss of service A major concern is that the broadcast technology used for ATSC signals called 8VSB has problems receiving signals inside buildings and in urban areas, largely due to multipath reception issues which cause ghosting and fading on analog images, but can also lead to intermittent signal or no reception at all on ATSC programs.WEB,weblink DTV REPORT ON COFDM AND 8-VSB PERFORMANCE, Office of Engineering and Technology, FCC, September 30, 1999, July 6, 2009, DTV broadcasts exhibit a digital cliff effect, by which viewers will receive either a perfect signal or no signal at all with little or no middle ground. Digital transmissions do contain additional data bits to provide error correction for a finite number of bit errors; once signal quality degrades beyond that point, recovery of the original digital signal becomes impossible, and the image on the screen freezes, or blinks back and forth to totally blank black.{{fact|date=September 2022}}The maximum power for DTV broadcast classes is also substantially lower; one-fifth of the legal limits for the former full-power analog services. This is because there are only eight different states in which an 8VSB signal can be in at any one moment; thus, like all digital transmissions, very little signal is required at the receiver in order to decode it. Nonetheless, this limit is often too low for many stations to reach many rural areas, which was an alleged benefit in the FCC's choice of ATSC and 8VSB over worldwide-standard DVB-T and its COFDM modulation. Additionally, without the hierarchical modulation of DVB, signal loss is complete, and there is no switch to a lower resolution before this occurs.{{fact|date=September 2022}}A hundred-kW analog station on TV channels 2 to 6 would therefore be faced with the choice of either lowering its power by 80% (to the twenty kilowatt limit of low-VHF DTV) or abandoning a frequency which it occupied since the 1950s in order to transmit more power (up to 1000 kW) on the less-crowded UHF TV band. Such stations can keep the same channel number, however, because of ATSC virtual channels. The higher frequencies are challenged in areas where signals must travel great distances or encounter significant terrestrial obstacles. Most stations in the low-VHF (channels 2–6) did not return to these frequencies after the transition. About 40 stations remained in the low-VHF after the transition, with the majority in smaller markets (with a few notable exceptions).How Well Does High VHF Work for DTV? {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007074707weblink |date=October 7, 2008 }} TV Technology April 9, 2008 (Retrieved on January 1, 2009) The FCC has long discouraged the digital allocation on low-VHF channels for several reasons: higher ambient noise, interference with FM radio (channel 6 borders FM at 88 MHz), and larger antenna size required for these channels.Seventh Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019113135weblink |date=October 19, 2011 }} Federal Communications Commission October 20, 2006 (Retrieved on January 29, 2009)NEWS, Now that the DTV transition is over, how will local stations perform?,weblink Broadcast Engineering, Penton Media, Inc., Overland Park, KS, June 15, 2009, June 30, 2009, After the transition, many viewers using "high-definition" antennas have reported problems receiving stations that broadcast on VHF channels.NEWS, Jeff, Wilkin, Some viewers not getting digital TV signal,weblink The Daily Gazette, John E.N. Hume III, Schenectady, New York, June 19, 2009, June 30, 2009, This is because some of the new antennas marketed as "HDTV antennas" from manufacturers such as Channel Master were only designed for channels 7–51 and are more compact than their channel 2–69 counterparts. These manufacturers did not anticipate widespread continued use of the relatively longer wavelength low-VHF channels.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Stations that broadcast in analog on channel 6 have had an additional benefit of having its audio feed broadcast on 87.7 MHz, which is at the very low end of the FM radio dial. As such, many stations that use channel 6 have taken advantage of this, and directly promote this feature, especially during drive time newscasts, and as a critical conduit of information in markets where severe weather (such as hurricanes) allowed a station the advantage to broadcast their audio via FM radio without having to contract with another FM operation to do so. WDSU in New Orleans, Miami's WTVJ and WECT in Wilmington, North Carolina were among the most well-known Channel 6 broadcasters which used this approach to provide emergency information during hurricanes.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Digital television, however, does not have this feature, and after the transition, this additional method of reception is no longer available. WRGB, channel 6 in Albany, New York, used a separate transmitter on 87.7 that transmitted a vertically polarized analog audio signal, which would theoretically avoid interference with the horizontally polarized digital TV signal. This would allow the station to keep its audio on 87.7 FM after the transition to digital."The Mystique of Channel 6" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609142143weblink |date=June 9, 2011 }}, tvtechnology.com, February 26, 2009 WRGB ran this transmitter for approximately 6 weeks on an experimental basis, only to find that the vertically polarized 87.7 MHz signal interfered with the digital video, while broadcast of analog signals on 87.9 MHz met with FCC objections. WITI in Milwaukee took a more direct though still experimental approach to restore their TV audio, having it restored in August 2009 to an HD Radio subchannel of WMIL-FM via a content agreement with WMIL owner Clear Channel Communications. A purchase of HD Radio equipment or having a car stereo equipped with an HD Radio receiver is required to listen to this broadcast.(File:Analog Antenna.jpg|thumb|right|An outdoor high-gain antenna was assumed in planning for DTV reception.)Planning for DTV reception assumed "a properly oriented, high-gain antenna mounted 30 feet in the air outside."NEWS,weblink

first=Harry A.

work=TVNewsCheck

access-date=October 15, 2009, The Consumer Electronics Association set up a website called AntennaWeb to identify means to provide the correct signal reception to over-the-air viewers. Another website, TVFool provides geographic mapping and signal data to allow viewers to estimate the number of channels which will be gained or lost as a result of digital transition; while it estimated that marginally more stations would be gained than lost by viewers, this varied widely with viewers of low-VHF analog signals in distant-fringe areas among the most adversely affected. An estimated 1.8 million people were expected to lose the ability to access over-the-air TV entirely as a result of the digital transition.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Viewers in rural and mountainous regions were particularly prone to lose all reception after digital transition.Digital Transition May Leave Some Without Signal {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727212914weblink |date=July 27, 2011 }}, WMUR 9 New Hampshire, February 18, 2009 Problems U.S. markets which have presented unique problems for digital transition include: New York City-Newark was one of the early U.S. terrestrial digital television pioneers with state-of-the-art ATSC facilities installed atop the World Trade Center as early as 1998, but those facilities were destroyed in the September 11 attacks, and for a number of years, New York lacked one single point of sufficient height from which to cover the entire region without severe multipath interference issues in downtown Manhattan. The 1776-foot 1 World Trade Center, proposed to replace the former World Trade Center, would not be completed for some time, so several scenarios were considered to enhance service. One such system, called distributed transmission, was being funded by a $30,000,000 federal grant to assure that no viewers are left without service. The DTS would have used low power transmitters to fill gaps in coverage from the Empire State Building. The Metropolitan Television Alliance, a group of eleven New York and New Jersey broadcasters organized soon after the destruction of the facilities at the World Trade Center, has been leading the development of the DTS system. In 2004, a partial solution was implemented: the top of the Condé Nast Building at 4 Times Square was reinforced and installed with a massive multiplexed UHF antenna. This relieves overcrowding at Empire State by using the site of a local Clear Channel radio facility to replace master antenna installations destroyed at WTC. New Orleans and portions of Mississippi were operating some digital transmitters from temporary locations or from towers belonging to other stations due to damage done during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005. While stations are now back on-air, the coverage area often does not match that specified on the station licenses due to the change in antenna locations. Denver faces unique multipath interference problems largely due to its mountainous location; its antennas on Lookout Mountain will need to increase in height to overcome obstacles to digital reception, but attempts to get local zoning approval have met with strong opposition. Federal legislation was ultimately used to require that Denver stations be allowed to construct their post-transition digital facilities but sharp nulls and gaps in coverage remain. Sparsely populated mountainous regions such as Montana and Utah currently rely heavily on broadcast translators to rebroadcast network stations into underserved communities; while these low-power retransmitters are not themselves required to broadcast digitally, many will need costly upgrades to receive a digital signal from the originating station—if the signal can be received at all. 23% of the 4000 licensed translators have received a federal subsidyMany rural TVs will go dark, not digital, David Migoya, Denver Post, February 10, 2009 to make the conversion,Low-power rural stations will continue in analog for several more years • RICHARD ECKE • Great Falls (Montana) Tribune • February 1, 2009 but many others will simply go dark. In sparsely populated markets such as Glendive, Montana, translators are needed to reach a widely scattered audience but the readiness of many small municipally owned translators remains largely unknown.{{fact|date=September 2022}} Many other stations in the Rocky Mountains had chosen to end analog broadcasts early because of poor winter conditions at transmission sites in February; stations needed to be sure they can make the on-site adjustments. For these broadcasters, the DTV Delay Act and its extended deadline of June 12, 2009 came too late to be of use, as the digital transition has already been completed.{{fact|date=September 2022}} Vermont, a market in which all major stations are as of February 2009 digital-only, is problematic as both a rural state and a mountainous region. WCAX CBS 3 in Burlington, and WPTZ NBC 5 in Plattsburgh, New York are now both UHF broadcasts from Mount Mansfield, causing many viewers to lose the stations. Previously as analog VHF stations, WCAX transmitted from Mount Mansfield, while WPTZ was broadcast from Terry Mountain in Peru, New York, on the opposite shore of Lake Champlain.{{fact|date=September 2022}} Buffalo, New York, a city whose stations mostly broadcast from among the Boston Hills and cover a fairly rugged terrain along the Appalachian Plateau, is one of several markets in which the primary stations are VHF stations that operate on 2, 4, and 7. All three stations were assigned DTV channels in the UHF spectrum; all had lost significant broadcast coverage in the transition, and viewers in the western Twin Tiers region lost all of their broadcast stations. In May 2009, both WIVB (channel 4) and WGRZ (channel 2) warned its viewers that were not in Erie or Niagara Counties that they would likely lose the broadcast signal, reducing the station's coverage area from approximately 12 counties to just two, along with several parts of southern Ontario, a critical viewing audience for all Buffalo stations.{{fact|date=September 2022}} Syracuse, New York had since 1948 employed low-VHF channels to feed networks to adjacent markets (notably CBS to the northern two thirds of the Utica market and NBC to the southern half of the Watertown market). These markets are 60 to 75 miles (100 to 125 km) distant. Utica lost CBS service because its affiliate, based in Syracuse, broadcasts on channel 5 analog (with a signal strong enough to reach Utica), but its channel 47 digital signal does not reach anywhere near Utica. Channel 5 had historically refused to cede its Utica territory to another potential affiliate, but in October 2015, CBS signed an affiliation deal with NBC affiliate WKTV, which restored CBS service to the Utica market via its second digital subchannel (prior to this, Binghamton affiliate WBNG-TV (channel 12) had served the southern third of the Utica market, which corresponds to the Cooperstown area). Similarly, Watertown, New York and Kingston, Ontario lost Syracuse NBC affiliate WSTM-TV once the DTV transition rendered Syracuse a UHF island, WSTM-TV continues to be shown on local cable systems. Like CBS in Utica, NBC eventually restored service to the Watertown market, signing an affiliation deal with new sign-on WVNC-LD in November 2016.Cogeco to replace channels:Syracuse feeds to be lost {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814085309weblink |date=August 14, 2009 }}, MIKE KOREEN, Kingston Whig-Standard, January 2009 On January 15, 2009, Hawaii became the first state in the United States to have its television stations switch from analog to digital early. Existing analog facilities at Mount Haleakala on Maui are to be removed due to ongoing radio interference with astronomy equipment operated under the watchful eye of the United States Department of Defense and the University of Hawai{{okina}}i.WEB,weblink DTV.gov Frequently Asked Questions– Hawaii, The digital stations are being deployed using new facilities at Ulupalakua and the old towers will be removed before bird nesting season begins in March. By making the switch early, the broadcast towers atop Haleakala near the birds' nesting grounds can be dismantled without interfering with the Hawaiian petrels' nesting season.WEB,weblink Hawaii first state to make DTV switch, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 15, 2008, December 28, 2008, June 12, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110612063900weblink">weblink dead, Between June 12, 2009 and July 1, 2009, programs on the Fox network were unavailable to viewers throughout the state of Montana (except viewers in the Billings area) who do not have cable or satellite service.weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20181120021350weblink">Missoula Fox Affiliate Doesn't Go Digital – at Least Not YetToday's Digital Upgrade Will Leave Some in Area without Fox for a While, Richard Ecke, Great Falls Tribune, June 12, 2009. The stations in Butte, Great Falls and Missoula were among many full-powered stations owned by Equity Broadcasting. Equity filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2008, and the stations went silent on June 12, 2009 due to inability to fund construction of digital facilities. Unlike most established broadcasters, Equity had expanded rapidly using outlying UHF stations as satellite-fed repeaters. Many but not all were low-power TV stations, typically carrying Univisión or smaller networks such as UPN (later The CW) and The WB (later MyNetworkTV). The majority of Equity's full-power operations came to the air after 1997, by which time the digital transition was already in progress. The stations were therefore not allocated a second, digital companion channel and were not required to simulcast digitally until their required flash-cut to digital signals at the end of transition.WEB,weblink 1997 FCC DTV Allocations, Doug Lung, February 10, 2005, Although Equity conducted a successful auction for the stations in April 2009, the required federal government approval came too late for the new owner, Max Media, to do the flash cuts. Eventually, Max Media chose to move the affiliation to digital subchannels of their respective new sister stations, all ABC affiliates.NEWS,weblink FOX Coming to Max Media of Montana Stations, June 3, 2009, ABC Montana, June 30, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090606111057weblink">weblink June 6, 2009, Other stations formerly owned by Equity, such as KUOK in Oklahoma City, were able to make flash-cuts under new ownership and are still on the air. Many stations were sold at auction to Daystar Television Network, which will construct the digital facilities and air religious programming on the acquired stations; in some cases these went silent, returning to operation after slightly less than a year off-air in order to avoid losing the full-service licenses. At least one affected station, WNGS Buffalo (now WBBZ-TV), had been subsequently resold while silent. (In all, the FCC signed on 136 full-power stations after the original allocation of digital signals.) Except for the full-service Equity stations, almost all were able to flash-cut by the deadline. Notable exceptions were Pappas-owned KCWK (which went silent several months before digital transition was originally to be completed and never returned; KCWK's license was cancelled by the FCC on June 2, 2009) and WWAZ-TV (which returned in August 2012 to the air).{{fact|date=September 2022}} There are 80 media markets in which more than 100,000 households receive television signals by over-the-air broadcasts. Frequency reallocation The reclaimed channels were to be used for a variety of mobile services, including mobile phones, the now-defunct MediaFLO (55), and public safety (63/64 base, 68/69 mobile). Most of this mobile spectrum has been sold to existing incumbent providers, with AT&T Mobility and Verizon as the largest bidders (see United States 2008 wireless spectrum auction).{{fact|date=September 2022}}The elimination of UHF channels, rather than VHF channels as in the rest of the world, precludes the use of band III (high VHF) for Digital Audio Broadcasting as is used in a few other countries. It also makes more difficult the reassignment of channels 5 and 6 (76 to 88 MHz) to expand the FM radio broadcast band.Could EXB Band Be Your New Home? {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506025738weblink |date=May 6, 2009 }} RadioWorld September 10, 2008 There are also no channels set aside for analog broadcasts of the Emergency Alert System, rendering most portable emergency TV sets useless. While a small number of portable ATSC sets have started to appear, these are costly.Portable Digital TVs Have Promise, But Need Work {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090201041145weblink |date=February 1, 2009 }}, Chicago Tribune, January 28, 2009 A portable converter box (such as Winegard's RCDT09A) would require a bulky external battery and mobile ATSC is not yet available. Another option to people would be getting a USB-based TV tuner card for their laptop computer, which in addition to its low costs became a popular option after Microsoft released Windows 7 four months after the DTV transition ended.{{fact|date=September 2022}}A Google-sponsored program called Free the Airwaves sought to use the "empty" white space within the remaining TV for unlicensed use, like for Wi-Fi.Free The Airwaves.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207105849weblink |date=February 7, 2009 }}/In March 2008, the FCC requested public comment on turning the bandwidth currently occupied by analog television channels 5 and 6 (76–88 MHz) over to extending the FM broadcast band when the digital television transition was to be completed in February 2009 (ultimately delayed to June 2009).WEB,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081227021445weblink">weblink dead, December 27, 2008, In the Matter of Promoting Diversification of Ownership in the Broadcasting Services, Federal Communications Commission, May 16, 2008, August 26, 2008, Certain commenters have urged the Commission to give a "hard look" to a proposal that the Commission re-allocate TV Channels 5 and 6 for FM broadcasting, {{USFR|73|28400}}, 28403 This proposed allocation would effectively assign frequencies corresponding to the existing Japanese FM radio service (which begins at 76 MHz) for use as an extension to the existing North American FM broadcast band.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On August 22, 2011, the United States' Federal Communications Commission announced a freeze on all future applications for broadcast stations requesting to use channel 51,FCC Public Notice DA-11-1428A1: Rcd PDF {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021170104weblink |date=October 21, 2011 }} Microsoft Word document {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306034009weblink |date=March 6, 2013 }} PDF format {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306034014weblink |date=March 6, 2013 }} Plain Text format{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} to prevent adjacent-channel interference (ACI) to the A-Block of the 700 MHz band. Later that year (on December 16, 2011), Industry Canada and the CRTC followed suit in placing a moratorium on future television stations using Channel 51 for broadcast use, to prevent ACI to the A-Block of the 700 MHz band.Industry Canada Advisory Letter - Moratorium on the Use of Television Channel 51 Digital-to-analog converters Now that the switch from analog to digital broadcasts is complete, analog TVs are incapable of receiving over-the-air broadcasts without the addition of a set-top converter box. Consequently, a digital-to-analog converter, an electronic device that connects to an analog television, must be used in order to allow the television to receive digital broadcasts.A television commercial shown on American television featuring This Old House announces that this is true. The box may also be called a "set-top" converter, "digital TV adapter" (DTA), or "digital set-top box" (DSTB).WEB,weblink What is a set-top converter box?, Digital TV Facts, March 23, 2008, 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080318135826weblink">weblink March 18, 2008, dead, Coupon program File:FCC DTV Coupon Card.png|right|thumb|150px|An example of the FCC converter box $40 subsidy coupon, which is in the form of a (Debit card|bank card]] which cannot be used for anything except for a converter box purchase.WEB,weblink TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), March 26, 2008,weblink May 29, 2008, dead, mdy-all, )(File:US-DTVConverterBoxCouponProgram-Logo.svg|100px|left) To assist consumers through the conversion, the Department of Commerce through its National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) division handled requests from households for up to two $40 coupons for digital-to-analog converter boxesWEB,weblink Preparing for the Digital Television Transition, National Telecommunications and Information Administration– U.S. Department of Commerce, April 2007, May 12, 2007, beginning January 1, 2008 via a toll free number or a website.Official Digital Transition website {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231192309weblink |date=December 31, 2007 }}WEB,weblink National Telecommunications & Information Administration, July 20, 2008, March 14, 2007,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070314211156weblink">weblink dead, The program was paid for with a small part of the $20 billion taken in from the DTV spectrum auction. However, these government coupons were limited to an initial sum of $890 million (22,250,000 coupons) with the option to grow to $1.34 billion (33,500,000 coupons),WEB, December 23, 2007,weblink Federal Register, Vol 72, No 50, March 15, 2007, Page 12,097–12,121, Rules to Implement and Administer a Coupon Program for Digital-to-Analog Converter Boxes, Section II, Part A, Paragraph 9,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071025223015weblink">weblink October 25, 2007, dead, which is far short of the estimated 112 million households (224 million redeemable coupons) in the United States.WEB,weblink Projections of the Number of Households and Families in the United States: 1995 to 2010, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of the Census, December 23, 2007, Nevertheless, not every household took advantage of the offer, as reports indicate half of all households already had at least one digital TV.WEB,weblink CEA: Press Release Detail– Press Release Detail, July 20, 2008,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20081222035518weblink">weblink December 22, 2008, dead, mdy-all, In January 2009, the NTIA began placing coupon requests on a waiting list after the program reached its maximum allowed funding. New requests for coupons were fulfilled only after unredeemed coupons expired.NEWS, Hart, Kim, TV Converter Program Runs Out of Funding,weblink The Washington Post, D01, January 6, 2008, January 6, 2008, These coupons could be redeemed toward the purchase of a digital-to-analog converter at brick and mortar, on-line, and telephone retailers that had completed the NTIA certification process.WEB,weblink TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website– Locate a Converter Box Retailer near you, May 21, 2008,weblink May 29, 2008, dead, mdy-all, Retail prices for the boxes range from $40 to $70 (plus tax and/or shipping); after applying the coupons, the price to the consumer would be between $5 and $40 per box. Because it was actually used as a payment, despite the name "coupon", consumers paid state and local sales tax on the coupon amount, which in effect reduced its value by about $3 (based on 7½% tax).WEB, TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs),weblinkweblink July 31, 2009, March 6, 2023, TV Converter Box Coupon Program Website, There has been possible evidence that the presence of the government coupon program has inflated the prices of converter boxes by between $21 and $34 above what they would be otherwise.DTV coupon program mainly benefits retailers, not consumers {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121010026weblink |date=November 21, 2008 }}, by Scott J. Wallsten, September 16, 2008 These converter boxes require royalties to be paid to license the MPEG-2 and ATSC patents, which may contribute (for example, the royalties for ATSC were $5 per receiver).WEB, ATSC Patent Portfolio License Briefing,weblink March 6, 2023, MPEGLA, Extension of transition to June 12 DTV Delay Act factoids

47

47|337}}| leghisturl =weblink| introducedin = Senate

111

352}}

Jay Rockefeller (Democratic Party (United States)>D–WV)| introduceddate = January 29, 2009| passedbody1 = Senate| passeddate1 = January 29, 2009| passedvote1 = unanimous consent| passedbody2 = House| passeddate2 = February 4, 2009| passedvote2 = 264–158| signedpresident = Barack Obama| signeddate = February 11, 2009| amendments = }}On January 21, 2009, Senator Jay Rockefeller introduced a bill in the Senate titled the DTV Delay Act because millions of Americans would not be ready for the cutoff on February 17 due to a shortage of converter box coupons, and planning that the transition date be moved to June 12. Rockefeller, chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, worked together on the bill. Hutchison supported the idea because Rockefeller did not intend to ask for another postponement. On January 22, The Nielsen Company said 6.5 million Americans had not prepared for the switch. Opponents pointed out that TV stations would face extra operating expenses, and those who paid to use the spectrum to be made available would have to wait.Under later amendments, stations could choose to end analog broadcasts before June 12 even if the bill passed, and any frequencies freed up by such action could be used by fire and police departments and other emergency services. Those whose converter box coupons had expired would be allowed to apply for new coupons. The House postponed a similar bill (by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman), until the Senate's version was complete.NEWS, Hart, Kim, Senate Nears Deal To Delay Digital TV,weblink The Washington Post, D02, January 24, 2009, January 24, 2009, Broadcasting and Cable January 28, 2009 – DTV Delay Bill Fails To Pass In HouseThe Senate unanimously voted on January 26, 2009 to delay the digital TV transition to June 12, 2009.NEWS, Senate Passes Bill to Delay Transition to Digital Television, Kim, Hart, The Washington Post, January 27, 2009, D01,weblink However, the House of Representatives voted on and defeated a similar measure on January 28. Rep. Joe Barton led the movement in the House to defeat the measure, saying that "the DTV transition is neither stuck nor broke", and that any problems with the DTV transition can be fixed.NEWS, House Kills Bill to Delay Switch to Digital TV, Kim, Hart, The Washington Post, January 29, 2009, D01,weblink Barton also said, "I guarantee you, no matter when you set the date— February 17, June 12, July the Fourth, Valentine's Day— there are going to be some people that aren't ready."NEWS, Delay in switch to digital TV is delayed, Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2009, Jim, Puzzanghera,weblink Digital TV Transition Delay: House Defeats Bill, February 17 Deadline Intact, Huffington Post, January 28, 2009On January 29, the DTV Delay Act passed in the Senate.NEWS,weblink US Senate approves bill to delay digital TV, Allen, JoAnne, Cooney, Peter, January 30, 2009, Reuters UK, May 3, 2009, DTV Delay Act (Senate version) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090807202451weblink |date=August 7, 2009 }}, Retrieved on February 5, 2009. On February 4, the House also approved this measure.House Approves DTV Delay, Sends Bill to Obama {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207122605weblink |date=February 7, 2009 }}, TV Week, February 4, 2009NEWS,weblink House Votes to Postpone Transition to Digital TV, February 4, 2009, February 4, 2009, Fox News, Rabbit ears get reprieve with digital TV delay. CNN. February 4, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2009.The bill was submitted to President Obama on February 4, who did not immediately sign it into law. On February 9, President Obama posted the bill on whitehouse.gov, giving the public five days to weigh in on it. Under a midnight February 10 deadline imposed by the FCC, broadcasters disclosed whether they would still cease broadcasting analog signals on the original date of February 17, or if they would delay until June 12, should the DTV Delay Act be signed into law.NEWS,weblink Obama Yet To Sign DTV Date Move Bill; Broadcasters Must Let FCC Of Their Transition Plans By Midnight, Eggerton, John, February 9, 2009, Multichannel News, May 3, 2009, On February 10, the FCC published the list. 491 stations stated they intended to transition on February 17. The FCC reserved final say on which stations would be allowed to transition on February 17 and which ones would be required to continue analog broadcasts, depending on how many viewers in each market have been determined not ready for the transition.NEWS,weblink Nearly 500 Stations Want To Make February 17 Digital Switch; FCC Will Make Transition Determinations; 191 Stations Have Already Changed Over, Eggerton, John, February 10, 2009, Multichannel News, May 3, 2009, All Full Power Television Stations by DMA, Indicating Those Terminating Analog Service on or before February 17, 2009Most O&O stations of six major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Univision, and Telemundo, plus The CW, MyNetworkTV, TeleFutura, and independent stations), as well as the station groups of Gannett, Hearst-Argyle, and Meredith, committed to keeping all or most of their analog signals active until the new June 12 cutoff date.WEB,weblink FCC Releases Rules For Implementing DTV Date Switch, February 5, 2009, February 6, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, WEB,weblink Meredith Won't Pull Plug On Analog, February 6, 2009, February 6, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, On February 11, 2009 President Obama signed the bill into law, officially moving the cutoff date to June 12, 2009.Obama Signs DTV-Delay Bill, Broadcasting & Cable, February 11, 2009. In total, 191 stations already had turned off their analog transmitters for good.On February 20, 2009, the FCC released an order stating that stations that wish to go all digital before the final June 12, 2009 date must inform the FCC of that decision by March 17, 2009.Multichannel News February 20, 2009 FCC: Stations Shouldn't Pull Analog Plug Until April 16 – Commission Releases Second Rules Order With Modifications For DTV Transition's Second WaveWEB,weblink FCC Order 09-11, February 21, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090305171627weblink">weblink March 5, 2009, dead, mdy-all, While 93 large-city network owned and operated stations (controlled by CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, and Univision) would continue analog broadcasts until June 12,Network-owned TV stations won't pull analog plug early, Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times, February 6, 2009 many small-market broadcasters were unable to justify the extra cost, with non-commercial and independent stations very adversely affected. No funding was provided to reimburse broadcasters who incurred additional costs due to the DTV Delay Act.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Public Broadcasting Service CEO Paula Kerger had estimated a $22 million cost to the nation's PBS member stations to extend simulcasting until June 12;Senate OKs 4-Month Delay to Digital TV Changeover{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Associated Press, January 26, 2009 more than a hundred PBS stations ultimately elected to stick to the original deadline.Digital delay could strap local TV stations {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131075943weblink |date=January 31, 2009 }}, Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg (FL) Times, January 27, 2009 Some individual commercial station groups, most notably Sinclair Broadcast Group and Gray Television, shut down the vast majority of their analog signals on the original deadline. Others left the question to their individual local stations. Many local markets, ranging from Burlington, Vermont and Sioux City, IowaLocal broadcasters look to proceed with digital transition, Dave Dreeszen, Sioux City Journal, February 1, 2009 to San Diego,San Diego Stations to Keep February 17 Deadline {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416120318weblink |date=April 16, 2009 }}, TV technology, February 2, 2009 lost analog signals from most or all major U.S. stations. Some stations in coastal regions such as Fort Myers, Florida had chosen not to wait until June 12 so as to ensure transition is complete before hurricane season .Hundreds of TV Stations to Proceed With Digital TV Switch, Peter Whoriskey and Kim Hart, The Washington Post, February 10, 2009In some cases, the Federal Communications Commission forced stations to continue full-power analog broadcast of at least a local newscast and information on the digital transition for an additional sixty days – a costly move for individual affected broadcasters. Of 491 stations which had indicated their intention to go digital-only in February 2009,WEB,weblink FCC list of full-service TV broadcasters; those operating digital-only on or before 2/17 indicated in red., July 15, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20110717232404weblink">weblink July 17, 2011, dead, mdy-all, 123 affiliates of four major U.S. commercial networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC) were targeted by Federal Communications Commission opposition, precluding or applying additional restrictions to the shutdown of their analog signalsFCC public notice FCC 09-7 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018034537weblink |date=October 18, 2011 }}, FCC Requires Public Interest Conditions for Certain Analog TV Terminations on February 17, 2009 in markets where the only analog service remaining after the February 17 shutdown would have been an independent or educational broadcaster, an adjacent-market station or a low-power station.FCC Says Some Stations Can't Switch February 17, Kim Hart, The Washington Post, February 12, 2009WEB,weblink FCC list of stations in markets losing all major commercial networks on 2/17, July 15, 2009, October 18, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111018074502weblink">weblink dead, Of approximately 1800 U.S. full-service TV stations, an additional 190 were already digital-only before February 2009; these included Hawaii (digital since January 2009), Zanesville, Ohio (digital since July 2008), and Wilmington, North Carolina (the FCC's 2008 digital test market), as well as some new stations and a few broadcasters forced to shut down analog early due to technical problems.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On April 12, Nielsen estimated that 3.6 million households remained unready;NEWS,weblink Digital TV transition becoming more common in Tampa-St. Pete, April 16, 2009, Tampa Bay Business Journal, June 25, 2009, key problem markets (according to FCC and NTIA) included Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Fresno, Houston, Brownsville, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, Tulsa, Sacramento, St. Louis, the San Francisco Bay Area, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Nightlighting (DTV Nightlight) {{See also|Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act}}On February 11, 2009, the FCC announced it would allow 368 of the 491 applied stations to go all-digital on the original February 17 date, 100 of which will be allowed to use their analog signal to inform unprepared viewers of the new transition date, or for emergency situations such as severe weather (called "nightlighting"). The FCC concluded that the other 123 stations who applied present a "significant risk of substantial public harm," if they go all digital on February 17. The FCC stated "We considered the presence of major networks and their affiliates critical to ensuring that viewers have access to local news and public affairs available over the air because the major network affiliates are the primary source of local broadcast news and public affairs programming". The FCC would not permit the 123 stations in "at-risk" markets to proceed unless they certify with the agency by 6 pm ET on February 13 that they comply with eight additional requirements, including ensuring that at least one station that is currently providing analog service to an area within the DMA provides DTV transition and emergency information, as well as local news and public affairs programming ("enhanced nightlight" service) for at least 60 days following February 17.Multichannel News February 12, 2009 FCC: 123 Stations Pose 'Significant' Risk If They End Analog February 17 – Agency Requires Some to Meet Additional Requirements to Go All-DigitalWEB,weblink FCC Public Order February 11, 2009, February 12, 2009, October 18, 2011,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20111018034537weblink">weblink dead, Multichannel News February 12, 2009 FCC Okays 368 To Make February 17 DTV Switch – Another 123 Can't Make Switch Unless Certain Conditions MetOn February 13, the FCC said 53 of the applied 106 at risk stations had qualified to go all digital on February 17. The other 43 qualified for nightlight service; 10 others could not comply with the nightlight clause. The total number stations which became digital only on February 17 was 421.Multichannel News February 13, 2009 FCC: 53 'At Risk' Stations Can Switch February 17 – Join 368 Already Cleared To End Analog SignalsMultichannel News February 16, 2009 FCC: 36% Of Stations Will Make Switch By Original DTV Hard Date – 421 Stations Pulling Analog Signals Tonight Provisions in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 House Republican Joe Barton from Texas, who strongly opposed the DTV Delay Act (see above section for further details), introduced a bill that would insert $650 million in DTV transition assistance into The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to be used for making more converter box coupons available and for DTV education, which was strongly supported by the Obama administration.Multichannel News January 22, 2009 Senator Rockefeller Unveils New Amended DTV Date Bill The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 passed with this revision in the House with a vote of 244–188 on January 28, 2009,Multichannel News January 29, 2009 House Passes 800 Billion Stimulus Package Replete With Broadband ProvisionsNEWS,weblink House Passes Stimulus Plan Despite G.O.P. Opposition, The New York Times, January 29, 2009, Jackie, Calmes, May 1, 2010, and the Senate passed the bill on February 10 by a vote of 61–37.WEB, David Espo, Associated Press via Atlanta Journal-Constitution,weblink Stimulus bill survives Senate test, Congressional negotiators announced on February 11, 2009, that they had reached agreement on a $789 billion economic stimulus bill.New York Times Deal Struck on $789 Billion Stimulus. New York Times. February 11, 2009 President Obama signed the final $787 billion version into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.CNN.com February 17, 2009 Stimulus: Now for the hard part The final version included the DTV provisions.Multichannel News February 11, 2009 Parties Find Compromise On Stimulus Package– Bill Keeps $650 Million For DTV Converter Box Coupon ProgramWhile the economic stimulus bill did allow additional funds for coupons, there was also a risk that available retail stock of the converter boxes themselves could prove inadequate. The Consumer Electronics Association had estimated three to six million boxes remained in-stock at the beginning of February 2009; Nielsen Media Research reported five million households as "completely unready" for digital transition in this same time period. The average U.S. household uses 3 television screens.DTV converter boxes could run out, industry warns, WJLA-TV, February 6, 2009However, the converter box coupon program only allows 2 coupons per household.The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 also allocated funds for expert installation services for those switching to DTV.FCC RFQ for DTV TransitionThe FCC awarded the contract to several companies to provide expert installation services.FCC Awarded Contracts Problems with the final transition Initial problems On May 1, 2009, Nielsen Media Research reported that 3.1% of Americans were still completely unprepared for the transition.Multichannel News May 1, 2009 3.1% Of U.S. Remain Completely Unready For DTV Transition: Nielsen On June 11, 2009, one day before the analog shutoff, the National Association of Broadcasters reported that 1.75 million Americans were still not ready.NEWS,weblink NAB: 1.75 Million Unready for DTV Transition, Eggerton, John, June 1, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, June 17, 2009, 971 TV stations made the final switch to digital on June 12. It was believed Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Austin, and Dallas would be the least prepared markets, but this turned out not to be the case, as most of the difficulties were in the Northeast, primarily with stations that changed their digital frequencies from UHF to VHF.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On June 13, 2009, the FCC said their help line, with about 4000 answering phones, received 317,450 calls on June 12. About one-third of callers still needed converter boxes, and one-fifth had reception problems. Acting FCC chair Michael Copps said, "Our job is far from over. This transition is not a one-day affair."WEB, June 13, 2009, FULL-POWER TV BROADCASTERS GO ALL-DIGITAL,weblink FCC, In New York City, about 11,000 people called the FCC for assistance, the most of any market. The other areas from which the most calls to the FCC were made: Chicago (6526), Los Angeles (5473), Dallas–Fort Worth (5473), and Philadelphia (3749). Around 900,000 calls were received in total.{{fact|date=September 2022}}The National Association of Broadcasters said 278 TV stations received 35,500 calls, but most callers merely needed to rescan.{{fact|date=September 2022}}The Commerce Department said 319,900 requested converter box coupons on June 11, almost four times the average during the previous month.NEWS,weblink DTV Transition Not So Smooth in Some Markets, Grotticelli, Michael, June 22, 2009, Broadcast Engineering, June 24, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090628083654weblink">weblink June 28, 2009, SmithGeiger LLC said 2.2 million homes were not ready, while Nielsen said the number was 2.8 million. This included homes which had requested coupons.NEWS,weblink TV Stations' Digital Conversion Confuses 700,000, June 13, 2009, Fox News, June 17, 2009, On June 14, Nielsen said the number was 2.5 million, or 2.2 percent of homes. That number was down to 2.1 million, or 1.8 percent, by June 21,NEWS,weblink Nielsen: 2.1 Million Homes Still Unready After DTV Transition, Eggerton, John, June 24, 2009, Multichannel News, June 25, 2009, and 1.7 million, or 1.5 percent, a week later.NEWS,weblink Nielsen: DTV Unready Homes Drop to 1.7 Million, Eggerton, John, July 1, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 2, 2009, One month after the transition, the number was 1.5 million, 1.3 percent,NEWS,weblink Nielsen: Month After DTV Switch, 1.3% of Country Unready for Digital, Eggerton, John, July 16, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 17, 2009, and after nearly 2 months, the number was down to just over one million, or 1.1 percent.NEWS,weblink , Nielsen: 98.9% of U.S. Homes Can Get DTV Signal, Eggerton, John, July 30, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, August 3, 2009, As of August 30, 2009, the number was 710,000, as 572,000 had upgraded in August and 1.8 million since June 12.NEWS,weblink , Nielsen: 99.4% of U.S. Homes Can Receive Digital Signals, Tanklefsky, David, September 8, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, September 10, 2009, In some cases where digital frequencies moved, people have been advised not only to re-scan but to "double-scan", in order to clear outdated information from the digital TV or converter box memory.Calls to the FCC decreased from 43,000 a day in the week ending June 15 to 21,000 the next week. Reception problems, representing nearly a third of calls at first, were down to one-fifth.NEWS,weblink FCC Considers DTV After-Action Report, Eggerton, John, July 2, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 8, 2009, On June 15, 2009, U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, introduced the House version of The Digital TV Transition Fairness Act, which Senator Bernie Sanders introduced in December 2008. It would require video service providers to offer a $10 basic package to anyone who lost at least one channel to the DTV conversion (with broadcasters waiving fees), pay for outdoor antennas (including installation) and extend the converter box program beyond July 31.NEWS,weblink House Version of Sanders DTV Bill Introduced , Eggerton, John, June 17, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 8, 2009, H.R. 2867: Digital TV Transition Fairness Act, govtrack.us, Retrieved on July 16, 2009. It did not pass.{{fact|date=September 2022}} VHF frequencies and digital television One of the most common problems was the return to VHF frequencies by stations that had used them when they were analog. Over 480 stations were broadcasting digitally on the VHF spectrum after the transition, up from only 216 on the frequencies before. Many antennas marketed for digital TV are designed for UHF, which most digital stations use. VHF analog signals travel further than UHF signals, but watchable VHF digital signals appear to have a more limited range than UHF with the lower power they are assigned, and they do not penetrate buildings as well, especially in larger cities.NEWS, 2 D.C. Stations Lost to Viewers in Digital TV Transition, Kim, Hart, The Washington Post, June 17, 2009, A16,weblink NEWS, FCC Spokesman: VHF Issues Solvable, John, Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable, June 17, 2009,weblink Mike Doback, vice president of engineering for Scripps Television, said, "It's only now that we've found out the planning factors were probably wrong in terms of how much power you need to replicate analog service."NEWS,weblink KUAC Makes Unusual Digital Switch, Dickson, Glen, Broadcasting & Cable, November 2, 2009, November 5, 2009, According to TV consultant Peter Putman, the problem with VHF reception is that VHF antennas must be large to be effective, and indoor antennas do not perform well enough. In addition, channels 2 through 6 are more susceptible to many types of interference. Richard Mertz of Cavell, Mertz & Associates says multipath interference inside the house is also a factor. Some receivers can deal with this problem better than others, but there are no standards. And with amplified antennas or amplifiers, it is possible to overload a converter box. Amplifiers can also cause noise that is interpreted as data. Raycom Media Chief Technology Officer Dave Folsom said, "There's nothing inherently wrong with VHF. It's just easier to have interference, because it goes out further."The FCC sent extra personnel to Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City to deal with difficulties in those cities. WLS-TV had received 1,735 calls just by the end of the day on June 12, and an estimated 5000 calls in total by June 16. WLS-TV is just one station which may solve its problems by increasing its signal strength, but doing this required making sure no other stations are affected.NEWS, DTV Transition Problems Linger; FCC Beefs Up Role, Wailin, Wong, Chicago Tribune, June 17, 2009,weblink June 24, 2009,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090622082054weblink">weblink June 22, 2009, dead, A low-power analog station, not required to shut down after 30 days like other nightlight stations, aired newscasts that could not be seen by a number of people after the transition, while the stations attempted to solve problems.NEWS, Weigel's Analog Nightlight Could Help Chicago Stations With Reception Issues, John, Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable, June 17, 2009,weblink In Philadelphia, most of the problems were with WPVI-TV, which had the area's leading news program, and public station WHYY-TV. Many people having trouble with those stations could pick up stations from Reading and Atlantic City.NEWS,weblink FCC Steps in to Fix Philadelphia Digital TV Problems, Fernandez, Bob, June 17, 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 2009, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20090621045353weblink">weblink June 21, 2009, Unlike WLS, WPVI had concerns about increasing its signal because of potential interference to other stations and to FM radio.In New York City, many called the FCC because they lived in apartment buildings with a single roof antenna which was not suitable for digital reception. The city reported antenna shortages and numerous requests for cable service.By the end of June, four stations had received permission to increase power. Ten other stations asked for power increases as well, but these were not in major cities; instead, the markets were in rural or mountainous areas such as Montana, Virginia, and Alabama.NEWS,weblink Boise Station Gets Power Boost, Eggerton, John, June 29, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 1, 2009, KNMD-TV in Santa Fe tried an alternate VHF channel.NEWS,weblink FCC Continues Working On DTV-Related Reception Issues, Eggerton, John, August 17, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, August 21, 2009, The FCC had two concerns about the requests for more power: some stations just wanted a competitive advantage and were not actually experiencing difficulties. Other stations wanted UHF frequencies instead because UHF worked better with mobile digital TV. However, some stations with legitimate problems have asked to return to their UHF frequencies.Two months after the transition, "two or three-dozen" stations continued to have problems.NEWS,weblink FCC Continues Working On DTV-Related Reception Issues, Eggerton, John, August 17, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, August 21, 2009, Three months after the transition, about 50 stations had applied for a power increase."Approximately a half-dozen stations" were still deciding at the end of October about what to do.NEWS,weblink FCC Allowing WGHP To Move Signal To Pre-DTV Transition Channel, Eggerton, John, Broadcasting & Cable, October 29, 2009, October 30, 2009, In some of the cases where stations returned to UHF, interference to nearby stations prevented a power increase.{{fact|date=September 2022}}Ironically, KUAC-TV in Fairbanks, Alaska moved from channel 24 back to channel 9 in September 2009. The area never had UHF before DTV, so most people had VHF antennas, while few people lived in apartment buildings. The higher power needed for UHF cost too much, and channel 24 had signal problems, so the station asked to move back.{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}Of 79 stations asking for a new channel, 22 wanted to go from VHF to UHF, and 10 wanted to go from UHF to VHF. Evaluating the transition On June 30 2009, his first full day as FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski said in a speech that the transition "succeeded far beyond expectations. You pulled it off by working collaboratively with each other across the agency, and with the Commerce Department and other parts of government, and by thinking creatively to leverage all available resources."NEWS,weblink Genachowski to Staff: FCC at Crossroads, Eggerton, John, June 30, 2009, Broadcasting & Cable, July 1, 2009, Still, the FCC planned a report on how well the transition went, and Genachowski admitted more work was needed.Genachowski's predecessor Michael Copps called the processA huge transition with significant impact on consumers that was not until the last moment adequately planned for or coordinated. [It was] a transition that led to problems that were largely predictable and one that we moved measurably forward from January to June to the benefit of many consumers. But it's not a closed book. It is ongoing. There are still problems out there, lessons to be learned and a document to write.NEWS,weblink Copps: DTV Not Done, Eggerton, John, 2009-07-11, Broadcasting & Cable, 2010-02-11, Low-power stations In September 2010, the FCC announced a proposal to set a hard deadline of 2012 for low power stations to broadcast in digital, though this deadline was not adopted.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On July 15, 2011, the Federal Communications Commission issued a final ruling regarding Broadcast translator (TX), Low-powered (LP), and Class-A low-powered (-CA) stations, requiring that analog transmitters shut down by September 1, 2015.FCC Sets Deadlines for LPTV, TV Translator and Class A Stations To Convert to Digital - And Gives Hints When Television Spectrum May Be Reclaimed for Broadband Broadcast Law Blog July 19, 2011 Transmitters on channels 52 to 69 were required to vacate their channels by December 31, 2011, but may remain in analog on another channel until the September 1, 2015 deadline. As part of the rules that were imposed, low power VHF stations on channels 2 to 6 can transmit with a maximum ERP 3 kW instead of the previously allowed maximum of 0.3 kW.{{fact|date=September 2022}}On August 13, 2009, the Community Broadcasters Association (CBA) announced in a statement that it would shut down after 20 years of representing LPTV stations. One reason given was the cost required to fight "restrictive regulations that kept the Class A and LPTV industry from realizing its potential," including the campaign to require analog passthrough, a converter box feature that allows both digital and analog television to be viewed on older TVs. Amy Brown, former CBA executive director, said, "some 40% of Class A and LPTV station operators believe they will have to shut down in the next year if they are not helped through the digital transition."NEWS,weblink Community Broadcasters Association to Shutter, Broadcasting & Cable, August 13, 2009, August 14, 2009, On April 24, 2015, the requirement for broadcast translator (TX) and low-powered (-LP) stations to convert by September 1 of that year was suspended, pending the then-upcoming spectrum auction.WEB,weblink Suspension of Sept. 1, 2015 Digital Transition Date for LPTV/Translator, Federal Communications Commission, April 24, 2015, May 2, 2015, After the auction's completion in 2017, on May 17 of that year the FCC announced July 13, 2021 as the new analog low-power shutoff date.Post-Auction Rules and Procedures for LPTV and TV Translator Stations Wiley Rein LLP, May 17, 2017 On June 21, 2021 the FCC granted the State of Alaska an extension due to novel factors that prevented the completion of stations' digital facilities, setting a new low-power analog shutoff date of January 10, 2022.WEB,weblink In the Matter of State of Alaska Request for Waiver of Section 74.731(m) of the Commission's Rules - Low Power Television Analog Termination Date, Federal Communications Commission, June 21, 2021, Spectrum reallocation The 2008 United States wireless spectrum auction effectively eliminated 700 MHz UHF channels 52–69 as of the June 2009 digital transition. After this, the study of how to further increase spectrum for wireless broadband began in 2009. Some plans called for eliminating broadcast TV entirely, but opponents of such a plan said the efforts made during the DTV transition would become pointless. By 2010, voluntary efforts were planned. Sharing channels, made possible by the first transition, was approved in 2012. Another spectrum auction planned for 2014 (and delayed to 2016) created a second digital transition, wherein UHF stations operating on channels 38–51 in the 600 MHz band were moved into VHF channels 2-13 or UHF channels 14–36. This was done in ten phases from 2017–2020.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}} ATSC 3.0 ATSC 3.0 (also known by the moniker NextGen TV) is a new digital television transmission standard which is not backwards compatible with ATSC 1.0, the standard employed in the 2009 digital transition. Transition to ATSC 3.0 is voluntary on both ends: television manufacturers are not required to provide ATSC 3.0 compatible tuners in televisions. Further, digital television stations may elect to broadcast in ATSC 3.0 at any time, with the caveat that they must simulcast ATSC 1.0 signals for up to five years after beginning broadcasts in ATSC 3.0.WEB, Cohen, Simon, 2020-07-24, ATSC 3.0: Everything you need to know about broadcast TV's next big thing,weblink 2020-07-25, www.digitaltrends.com, If and when digital television stations sunset their ATSC 1.0 broadcasts, consumers that wish to see the newer broadcasts will be required to purchase televisions which can receive ATSC 3.0, install a software update (for sets that have the capability to be updated in such a manner), or purchase ATSC 3.0 tuners for their older digital television sets. See also Coupon-eligible converter box North American television frequencies References and notes {{Reflist|30em}} External links PBS Story DTV from Chicago Affiliate (WTTW) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421033734weblink |date=April 21, 2012 }} weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070227151242weblink">DTVAnswers.com: What you need to know about the June 12, 2009 switch to DTV. National Association of Broadcasters weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071123122408weblink">DTV Transition Consumer oriented FCC site {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725151723weblink |date=July 25, 2011 }} FCC regulatory information on the DTV transition weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071214091116weblink">Federal Coupon Program weblinkbriefing_roomdtv_delay_act//" title="web.archive.org/web/20090219155522weblinkbriefing_roomdtv_delay_act//">Full Text of the DTV Delay Act from WhiteHouse.gov {{North American DTV}}{{Telecommunications}}