House Votes to Delay Digital TV Transition

Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 3:56 PM on February 4, 2009.

The House voted today to postpone the switch from analog to digital TV to June 12th, giving the 6.5 million households that still receive analog signals 4 months to get ready for the transition.

Consumer rights groups have pushed for the delay ever since the Commerce Department’s poorly planned coupon program to offset the cost of converter boxes ran out of money, leaving millions of mostly poor, rural and elderly viewers unprepared for the switch.

But last week, when the bill was being fast-tracked through the House, Republicans bravely stood up for our voiceless, under-represented telecoms and blocked the delay.

Fortunately, today's vote needed a simple majority to pass and lawmakers rallied behind the bill, voting 264-158 in favor of the delay.

President Obama, who has long pushed for the delay, is expected to sign the legislation.

Tagged as: media, republicans, obama, poor, digital tv

Tana Ganeva is an assistant editor at AlterNet.