Separate bills in the U.S. Senate and House have set 2009 as the year for broadcasters to switch off their analog signal, triggering the full fledged transition to digital television. Yet while the proposed pieces of legislation concur on the year, there are differences in other key provisions. Plus, there’s the distinct chance that the language in the two measures could change significantly with feedback and further political wrangling.
The ad biz has a more than casual interest in the transition to digital television given its implications for commercial production as well as the interactive opportunities that could arise as a result.
Last week, by a vote of 19 to 3, the Senate Commerce Committee approved a bill that would call for the transition to take place on April 7, ’09. By no coincidence, that’s the day after the conclusion of the widely watched NCAA basketball tournament, underscoring the political sensitivity of shutting down an analog signal upon which a large segment of the population is still dependent for their TV viewing.
There’s some debate over prospects for passage of the Senate bill. However, there’s a big push to get the wheels in motion for the transition–the major impetus being financial. With a massive U.S. budget shortfall, the digital transition could raise billions of dollars through auctions for the spectrum licenses that would be surrendered by broadcasters. According to Congressional Budget Office estimates, the auction of analog frequencies would generate some $10 billion for the U.S. Treasury.
The proposed Senate bill would set aside $3 billion for owners of analog sets to buy converter boxes that could receive digital signals. It’s estimated that there are currently some 80 million such TV sets that don’t get subscription services provided by cable and satellite firms.
HOUSE PROPOSAL
Meanwhile in the House of Representatives, Commerce Committee members have begun circulating a bill that would require broadcasters to turn off their analog signal by January 1, ’09.
Per this legislation, cable operators would have to maintain dual carriage for five years–meaning that after the switch-off date, they would carry both the digital signal and a signal that’s converted to analog so that customers could receive programming with or without a digital set-top box.
The House bill would also provide some $1 billion to subsidize set-top boxes for those TV sets that aren’t connected to a cable or satellite delivery service. Those TV households would each receive $80 worth of vouchers for the purchase of a converter box.
Both the House and Senate proposals fail to address whether cable operators would have to carry all the new digital programs transmitted by broadcasters. This is a major bone of contention as the cable industry has lobbied vigorously against such a requirement being instituted.