Outgoing FCC Chair Backs DTV Switch

Outgoing FCC chairman Kevin Martin said delaying the February 17, 2009 switch to digital TV would create confusion...but the voucher program needs to get running again.

Speaking at last week’s CES show in Las Vegas, outgoing FCC chairman Kevin Martin said that delaying the United States’ February 17, 2009 transition to digital television could confuse consumers and, thereby, create higher costs for the transition going forward. Martin noted that all publicity and education materials about the transition—not just from the FCC but from the entire television industry—has been centered on the February 17, 2009 date.

However, Martin also said it’s important to make sure the government’s converter box voucher program is operating so consumers who rely on over-the-air television broadcasts can set hands on a converter before the switchover deadline.

Martin’s comments come in response to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team asking Congress to consider delaying the transition to digital television. The request followed a warning from Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) late last year that the government’s program for digital television conversion vouchers was on the verge of running out of money. Congress initially approved over $1.3 billion to fund the voucher program; Markey has introduced legislation to allocate additional funding.