DTV Nightlight Bill Becomes Law

On December 23, President Bush signed the Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness (SAFER) Act into law. The legislation will allow television broadcasters to broadcast emergency and DTV education information on their analog channels for 30 days past the Feb. 17, 2009 DTV transition date. However, the law simply permits, rather than mandates, the analog grace period, and says stations could not stay on if they interfered with other stations or with emergency communications. The FCC is directed by Jan. 15 to come up with a plan to implement the voluntary program.