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Digital TV plan sparks lawsuit
27/03/2008 10:06 - (SA)
Washington - Owners of small television stations are facing a "death sentence" because of a flaw in a plan to force broadcasters to shift to digital broadcasting, and have asked a federal judge for a reprieve.
The Community Broadcasters Association wants the Federal Communications Commission to ban all digital set top converter boxes that aren't equipped to receive an analogue signal, a request that has the potential to derail the biggest broadcasting transition since colour television.
As of February 18 2009, all full-power television stations in the US are scheduled to stop broadcasting an analogue signal. Anyone who gets programming through an antenna and doesn't have a newer-model digital TV set will need to buy a box that will convert the digital signal to analogue. The government is providing two $40 coupons per household that can be used to buy these boxes.
The problem facing the 2 600 low-power television stations represented by the association is that they are not subject to the deadline. Viewers who buy a converter box may actually block the low-power analogue signal from those stations, while the full-power digital signal displays normally.
The association, in a petition filed with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday, asked the FCC to stop the marketing and distribution of the boxes.
The association cited a 1962 law called the All Channel Receiver Act, which was adopted during the early years of UHF broadcasting. The law requires that devices that receive television signals be capable of picking up "all frequencies allocated by the FCC to television broadcasting".
It is not certain how many viewers may be affected. The association characterizes its viewers as rural, underserved urban, elderly and non-English speaking.
Cost is prohibitive
In addition to low-power stations, about 4 300 translator stations, which boost signals from full-power stations and relay them to rural areas, also are exempt from the 2009 deadline.
Nothing in the law prevents low-power stations from converting to digital, but for most stations, the cost is prohibitive.
Ronald Bruno, president of the association, said converter boxes currently for sale will decrease viewership for low-power stations.
"Every time a person gets a coupon, buys a converter box and plugs it in, we lose that viewer," he said.
The FCC had no comment on the suit.
The converter box programme is overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Agency spokesperson Bart Forbes said the law ordering the transition says boxes can "only receive digital signals" and the NTIA specifications on box design are consistent with the law.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, accused the broadcast association of "trying an 11th-hour litigation strategy to freeze the entire nation in analogue".
As of March 25, the NTIA reported it has received requests for 8.5 million coupons from 4.5 million households.
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