After several years of prep where everyone involved operated as if the digital TV transition would go forward as mandated on February 17 — despite signs that many viewers who relied on analog signals still didn’t understand the technology issues involved — there are suddenly strong signs that the analog switch won’t be flipped to the “off” position on schedule.


According to The New York Times‘ “TV Decoder” blog today, John Podesta of the Obama transition team has complained of “woefully inadequate” funding for the change and is asking Congress to extend the switchover deadline. The Times reports that the government’s converter-box coupon program, which offers $40 vouchers toward the purchase of a new digital tuner to any consumer who asks for one, has burned through $1.3 billion and is now tapped out. In a letter to Congress, Podesta said as many as five million consumers could be stuck on a waiting list for the coupons by the time the transition is scheduled to occur. (Then again, TV Week yesterday quoted PBS executive John Wilson as saying that only about half of the consumers who have received coupons have actually used them.)

Consumers groups have also urged Congress to delay the transition, and the Times cited an AP story quoting PBS President Paula Kerger, who fretted that low-income kids, especially, might miss educational shows such as Sesame Street. PBS viewers are thought to rely disproportionately on over-the-air broadcasting rather than cable or satellite.

Is it a good idea to delay this long-planned move in favor of making the transition as smooth as possible for TV viewers who lack cash and/or tech-savvy to upgrade their gear? Or is the digital transition just a bitter pill that rabbit-ears devotees have to swallow sooner or later?