Rocking Chair Squeaks - April 2008

It is April 2008 and almost daily on a local television station there is a crawl warning me that my television may stop working on February 17, 2009.

While the above statement may sound quite ominous, it is a true statement. After that date, older analog televisions will no longer be able to receive over the air programming. The federal government has established that date as the date broadcast television stations must switch over to broadcasting solely a digital signal. There are some exceptions such as low power stations or translator stations, but this change will involve most television stations throughout the country.

What this means is that if you currently receive your television signal over the free airways on an analog television set (do you have an older set using “rabbit ears”?) you will need a converter box between your television and the antenna to continue receiving the over the air signal. If you are using a digital television with “rabbit ears” to receive over the air signals, then supposedly you will be ok without a converter box.

U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) held a hearing, Sept. 19, 2007 concerning the upcoming DTV transition and its disproportionate effects on America’s seniors. “Seniors are particularly vulnerable to slipping through the cracks of the transition. Not only are they more likely to rely on free over-the-air analog TV signals, but for many seniors television is their only link to the outside world,” said Chairman Kohl. “Without adequate planning and coordination, seniors will be left in the dark.”

The government has set up a coupon program to help Americans switch to digital. They are offering up to two (2) coupons good for $40 each towards the purchase of converter box that allows for the digital signal to be viewed on an analog computer.

All of this sounds good, and at least my local television station is promoting the switch well in advance, but there is a potential audience that could be affected by this coupon program but won’t be able to take advantage of it. This is because the program allows for 2 coupons per Household. It is possible that retirees and seniors are living in nursing homes or group homes where they don’t subscribe for cable television and rely upon their older analog to keep them in touch with their local news or syndicated programming. Since there could possibly be more than two televisions in the Household, everyone may not be able to get their coupon.

If you know anyone in this situation, you may wish to explore these two web sites for more information: DTVtransition.org and DTV2009.gov