Background: On December 21, 2005, the United States Senate voted 51-50 to approve the Budget Reconciliation conference report which includes the Digital Transition title. The conference report will now be returned to the House of Representatives for its consideration, as the Senate made technical changes unrelated to the Digital Television title.
As Congress takes final action setting the date for the digital TV transition , Charles Benton, chairman of the Benton Foundation, said:
"It is now time for policymakers to take the next step in the digital TV transition -- putting the remote control back into viewers hands -- by outlining basic public interest obligations for broadcasters to ensure that the public's airwaves indeed meet the public's needs.
"The House approved early Monday legislation which sets a date certain for the end of analog TV broadcasts in the US. What remains uncertain is what kind of content consumers should expect in the age of digital television. The transition from analog to digital television does not just represent a technological change, but an important opportunity to reassess whether the public's airwaves are being used to meet the public's needs.
"Ironically, Congress's action comes just days after the sixth anniversary of the FCC's opening of the public interest obligation for digital television broadcaster's proceeding -- which still asks a number of critical questions in the digital television transition which have yet to be answered.
"As the final decisions about the DTV transition now move to the Federal Communications Commission, critical questions remain unanswered: Will DTV broadcasters provide the necessary civic programming before elections necessary for an informed democracy, or will democracy itself be left behind? Will the DTV future include a variety of voices and views, or will the nation's diversity be left behind? Will DTV provide truly educational content, or will our children be left behind? Will DTV programming be accessible, or will people with sight- or hearing-impairments be left behind?
"Recently, the FCC's own Consumer Advisory Committee called on the Commission to answer these questions by June 2006. Charles Benton said, "with the DTV transition now certain, the FCC needs to provide the same certainty for how the DTV transition will serve the public's interest."
Learn more about the DTV transition legislation at http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/860
