Markey Expects 'Hard' DTV Date To Move

In an interview with cable network C-SPAN, Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) said he thinks the 2009 target date for the end of analog TV broadcasts will be delayed because House Republican leadership is not setting enough money aside to subsidize digital-to-analog converter boxes for the poor and elderly. Rep Markey has been one of the most vocal critics of the House-passed DTV transition bill. Unlike the bipartisan Senate version that allocates $3 billion to a subsidy that would cover everyone, the House version requires viewers to actively seek out the subsidy, and would only put $960 million towards it. The auction of returned analog TV spectrum is expected to generate from $10 billion to perhaps as much as $30 billion.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6288850?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP
(free access for Benton's Headlines subscribers)