Americans to get DTV coupons before analog gets the kibosh

In 2009, we'll all say our final farewells (good riddances) to sub-par analog television. Despite congressional apprehension, the Department of Commerce has gone forward with a plan to ease old-hat Americans into the digital TV age. Our source article's coughed up some wacky numbers, so we can't really tell whether the budget will suffice or not. Any household will be allowed to claim two $40 coupons each for a discount on digi-to-analog set-top boxes until nearly $1 billion has been spent. If old-hat peeps are still left hanging, another $500,000 ($500 million?) will be available only to those depending on antennas for reception. Apparently only 15% of the current 73 million analog TV users are catching their TV via antenna, so they shouldn't have much trouble scoring the discount at least. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's plan alots for a max amount of about 33,750 (37.5 million?) coupons -- hopefully enough to keep everyone glued to the tube. In the case of a shortage, one idea is to sit tight and hope enough people opt out of the coupons and volunteer to throw down for a new TV that supports digital broadcasting. Another is for the government to increase the subsidy -- a measure the Democrats already tried to push for with no success. Either way, we're talking about a historic shift in the way we watch television in America, people -- it's sure to be rat possum race and if you snooze 'til February 19, 2009, you'll royally lose.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[Jypson @ Mar 13th 2007 9:27PM]

So thats why I paid over 18,ooo in taxes last year and only got $112 back....thanks uncle sam.

[telepheedian @ Mar 13th 2007 9:28PM]

Your Tax Dollars At Work™

[JoshLowry @ Mar 13th 2007 9:43PM]

@ jyspon

I can't think of a better way to spend our tax dollars! (sarcasm)

This really is ridiculous. Who the hell is coming up with this crap? Are people seriously writing their Senators asking for new televisions?

1.5 billion down the tubes...

[Dave @ Mar 13th 2007 10:11PM]

"1.5 billion down the tubes..."

The Pentagon's LOST more money than that in the last year ($2.3 trillion). I agree, though--it's a complete waste of taxpayer money. I wish there was still such a thing as an economically conservative politician. I guess there are Libertarians--but nobody knows what the hell they are, so I guess we're screwed.

[Curtis @ Mar 13th 2007 10:00PM]

Digital TV Tuners! Not TV sets. This is old news in my opinion. I read articles two years ago about the cost/benefit why Congress would to this

Some us of American's can't afford an expensive HDTV or a Cable/Sat service. And with TV airways going all digital, those few will be left in the "dark".

[Curtis @ Mar 13th 2007 10:05PM]

This coupon should only be for the economic disadvantge who don't have a cable service.
If not then I do have problems with it.

[Jugomugo @ Mar 13th 2007 10:40PM]

What the hell? Who decided that watching television is a right?

[Timerider @ Mar 13th 2007 10:10PM]

What the hell are you people talking about. If everyone has to convert to digital, people who can't afford to buy a bunch of new TVs (like me) will be stuck with nothing. I don't have cable or satellite (too expensive). We need at least 3 converter boxes and a new TV. We can barely afford 1 TV, not to mention 4.

[William @ Mar 14th 2007 10:27AM]

Oh my GOSH! You're so right, Timerider.

TV is your RIGHT as an American. By God, if you can't get it, then the Government should step in to help.

I'm so glad you made this point. Our precious rights are being taken away AS WE SPEAK. Next thing you know, they'll be trying to take away soft toilet paper. To arms my brothers!

[steve chernoff @ Mar 13th 2007 10:13PM]

i dont understand what happens to my handheld tv for hurricanes down here in florida

[Timerider @ Mar 13th 2007 10:19PM]

Same here, I gave my dad a handheld tv. But it won't work anymore.

[Dave @ Mar 13th 2007 10:16PM]

By the way, $2.3 trillion is $8000 for every man woman and child in America. If the government MUST redistribute wealth, then they could have made sure that every American could have been given plasma screens and cable...in multiple rooms...or new cars...or their mortgages paid off...

[Dave @ Mar 13th 2007 10:18PM]

Correction: I think that money was actually found to be lost some years ago. 2001?

[robothouse @ Mar 13th 2007 10:40PM]

@Jugo

I totally agree. It is completely the citizen's choice to watch TV. The government shouldn't have to hand out money so people can sit in front of the boob tube.

[Sam @ Mar 13th 2007 10:48PM]

Most people who would benefit from this have no idea what is happening.

[Mark @ Mar 13th 2007 10:51PM]

So, the government is spending people's money to help people rot their brains and waste their time on television? Great plan.

[Lee Roy Brandon III @ Mar 13th 2007 10:53PM]

I agree that this is a misuse of taxpayer money. There is no right to TV. If you want reception, you buy a TV designed for it. I don't expect that my record player will play compact discs, or that my old analogue cellular phone will work on a digital 3G network. For the government to be handing out these coupons is only asking that all the decoders be priced $40 higher than they would be otherwise, because the manufacturers are the ultimate recipients of this windfall.

[oneijack @ Mar 13th 2007 11:02PM]

I'z gots ta watch my stories. Tell Oprah to pay for this s#it. Its her dumd@ss audience anyway. Heck just put some TVs / couches in all the libraries. God knows they are useless because of the net anyway. Its crap like this that makes me want to kick puppies...

[Tom @ Mar 13th 2007 11:10PM]

damn am i proud to be a canadian.

here we see broadcasted television as an asset above the interests of digital communication companies' interests.
broadcasted television is one of the only ways we communicate with our people in the remote north, and i don't see canada abandoning it any time soon.

[beavis_2k @ Mar 13th 2007 11:40PM]

Why are they charging us? the @#$@# cell companies are buying the analogue signals, let them pay instead of the tax payers >:(
or it should come out of the budget of the FCC :p

from
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/dtv/dtvcoupon.html

"between Jan. 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes,..."

two 40 buck coupon for an converter box??? i am sure those will range far higher that 40 bucks, many poor people will be left in the dark.

[DAZA @ Mar 14th 2007 8:59AM]

I find it hard to believe it will cost more than $USD40 by Jan 1 2008.

Why? We sell them here in Australia starting from $55. That's AUD. Convert it to USD and it's already almost $USD40. Then account for the fact they are dropping in price all the time, and they should be well under $40 USD by 2008.

[CaptCaveman @ Mar 14th 2007 12:28AM]

If they don't help get them converted over to digital. Then how are they going to watch the PSAs telling them to stop watching so much TV and get out and exercise?

[Travis @ Mar 14th 2007 10:12PM]

I don't understand why the government sees itself as being responsible for making sure everyone in the nation can afford television. It's not a right, it's a privilege. I assure you, if television is important enough to an individual, he/she will find a way to afford it. In any case, there are myriad other more pressing causes to which the government should be devoting its efforts. How disappointing.

[caliguana @ Mar 14th 2007 2:13AM]

So what's the line on these vouchers running out? I predict that the ones for the general public will be gone by the end of February, easily. In the rulemaking comments you have some people saying that folks with cable or satellite should get these if their cable goes out or if they need to watch TV during a hurricane (which is a legitimate concern, since folks have battery operated TVs for storm info and there will be battery powered converters offered). I will tell everyone I know to get at least one, just in case.

[Mark @ Mar 14th 2007 5:33AM]

in the RSS feed dropdown in firefox the title of this post reads "Americans to get DTV coupons before anal", made me giggle

[John Bunka @ Mar 14th 2007 7:35AM]

What a waste of freaking money; well I hope everyone here claims the 2 coupons and unloads them on eBay/craiglist, so at least we can reclaim our hard earned.

[Bill @ Mar 14th 2007 10:39AM]

Oh come on people. Whine whine whine. At first I was annoyed that vouchers would be handed out but maybe we need to look at it from a different perspective. The government sold the analog spectrum TV is now broadcast through, forcing everyone to upgrade. They SOLD it. Part of the deal to get this through was a provision to provide vouchers for those who needed them. People have a reasonable expectation that a TV bought last year would work for 10 years or possibly more. Then the government made a deal that FOR SOME makes their TV not work anymore after 2009.

Analogy time: Your state decides to upgrade it's roads by paving with higher-tech compounds. Problem is, regular tires won't work on it anymore. Keeping your standard tires simply is not an option. Your state doesn't HAVE to upgrade to the new road but they found a buyer for all the old asphalt that makes it worth it. But a lot of people can't afford or won't support the plan because they don't want to buy new tires. To "sell" the deal, you promise vouchers that will help cover the cost of the tires.

[James @ Mar 14th 2007 2:12PM]

Uh, that analogy makes my brain hurt, but it sort of makes a point. Frankly, I think the FCC should lease spectrum, not sell it, and that the cost should be whatever the market will bear. The goal should be to fund the FCC's operating budget entirely with spectrum rental, and getting additional money out of general funds should be difficult.

But that's water under the bridge, I guess -- the sale will go through. But I still have a point to make: people like to think that money comes from X and should therefore be used on Y, which doesn't make sense. People think that OASDI (Social Security) is a separate line item from your Federal income tax, and that the money from this separate fee only goes to pay for Social Security. Hokum. You have to realize that at the federal level it's all going into one big pot, and that if you give to one "money sink", you either need to take more from a different "money source", or the pile in the pot gets smaller.

So don't ask if Americans deserve to "get back" the money from the sale of spectrum, ask if they deserve the particular form of subsidy they're getting, because if they don't, there's more to spend on other programs, or less taxes are required. I think that instead of offering first-come first-served stipends on a particular thing, every tax filer should get X dollars back as a tax refund/credit. That is, put the money into the Big Pot, and if some falls out (e.g. the budget is overfunded), give it back to the people.


As it is, I'm planning to claim two tickets for myself and throw them away, if that means that the program will end up shelling out $80 less than it would otherwise (assuming they only pay out per redeemed coupon). I hope everybody else who wants smaller government will do the same.

[Secret Asian Man @ Mar 14th 2007 5:02PM]

Our US government felt it was rather important that we be able to see every body hair on Burt Reynold's body by the end of the decade. In fact, the push for mandatory HD broadcast is so important that while we are running out of fossilized fuel source, facing impending global warming beyond repair, quickly falling toward a shrinking social security benefits coffer, and our education system becoming the laughingstock of the world, while post-secondary education tuition are projected to skyrocket even more, our elected officials have planned to spend billions of our tax dollars to subsidize or even give away the necessary HD receiver adapters to retrofit every SDTVs in our gloriously detailed nation.

[Bob @ Mar 22nd 2007 12:02AM]

You know what? Don't FORCE the American public to go digital. Considering Congress is mandating the digital transition, they should pay. There's no reason to stop analog transmission, as digital is not a guarantee for better TV. This is not the HDTV transition. It's simply the 480i or better transition. The U.S. government stands to gain BILLIONS auctioning off the analog spectrum, and that's why it they exchanged the frequencies. All the digital box fees are coming out of the auction pot, so spare the taxpayer subsidy argument.