The Digital TV Transition: A Rocky Start

Almost two weeks after the analog-to-digital TV switch, many still can't get programming. Numerous TV stations were unprepared

By Joel Schectman

Some consumers are getting ditched by the digital TV switch. Even some who planned dutifully for the nationwide TV-signal upgrade remain without access to some of their favorite programming almost two weeks after a June 12 deadline that required TV stations to cease broadcasting with analog signals.

Consider the case of Mark Colombo. Along with his father, the resident of rural Virginia often spent Friday evenings watching news shows on the PBS affiliate WBRA. And to make sure that their viewing would continue without a hitch, the Colombo family bought no fewer than four devices designed to ensure that their old TV would pick up new signals. But when the deadline came, their PBS station nonetheless went dead. "We both watch, or watched—past tense—McLaughlin Group and NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," Colombo says. These days the Colombos catch PBS programming online.

The Colombos are among the legions of TV users across the country who encountered glitches after the nationwide transition designed to free up airwaves for use by emergency responders and mobile-phone companies delivering wireless TV. The Federal Communications Commission has received nearly 248,000 calls from viewers who have lost one or more channels since the digital switch on June 12.

In some cases, consumers installed converters improperly; others failed to prepare at all. But many people carefully followed government-issued guidelines on how best to prepare for the changeover but lost signals because the stations themselves didn't get ready in time. "Analog evolved over 50 years," says Julius Knapp, the FCC's chief engineer. "We are only one week into the digital [TV] age."

FCC allowed delays by 8% of stations

Most of the population subscribes to programming from such cable operators as Comcast (CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable (TWC) or satellite providers including DirecTV (DTV). But those affected most by the digital TV switch—and potentially, by the glitches—dwell in the 10% of America's 110 million homes that still watch over-the-air broadcasting. Some areas—including Salt Lake City, Houston, and Dallas—have over-the-air rates as high at 20%.

Many stations simply needed more time, despite the government's decision to push back the transition, originally scheduled for February, by four months. For instance, Baltimore's CBS (CBS) affiliate, WJIZ, applied for delay permits to give the station longer to build up its digital capacity. The process can involve building more antennas or elevating existing ones. Almost 8% of the country's 1,800 stations received the delay permits, according to the FCC. Permits can give the stations as much as three extra years to reach full digital readiness. Some stations that received extensions have completed the necessary upgrades, says Shermaze Ingram, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Broadcasters, a trade group that represents the broadcasting industry.

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