FCC's Martin: DTV Converter-Box Subsidy May Dry Up
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin tells Congress that NTIA estimates on DTV-to-analog converter box coupon program may be off.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/7/2008 1:37:00 PM
| DTV Transition 101: To watch a video guide to the February 2009 analog shutoff, including an explanation of the coupon program and a step-by-step demo on how to hook up a DTV-to-analog converter box, click here. |
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has told Capitol Hill he is concerned that the DTV-to-analog converter box coupon subsidy program could run out of money before it runs out of requests for the $40 coupons, suggesting the calculations of the government agency responsible for administering the program may be off.
In letters to House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA) first reported by Multichannel News' Ted Hearn, Martin says he is "increasingly concerned about the funding of the program," which has $1.5 billion to work with.
The program is overseen by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. NTIA has also said the program might run out of funds, but that was part of a request for money to be moved from funding coupons to paying for processing them.
NTIA got the additional administrative funds from Congress, but has not said it expects to run out of money to fund the coupons.
In his letter he suggested NTIA could have underestimated the number of coupons it will need. He pointed, in part, to NTIA's estimation, "based on data from Nielsen," that there were only 13.7 thousand over-the-air-only (OTA) households in Wilmington, N.C., where the plug on analog TV was pulled Sept. 8.
Martin says that as of Sept. 30, there were 19.1 thousand requests from Wilmington houses that identified themselves as over-the-air-only. Extrapolating that to the rest of the country, he said, instead of 14 million OTA households, as has been projected by NTIA, there could be 19.5 million.
NTIA also predicted that the current 49% redemption rate for coupons would remain steady, even as requests for coupons rose toward the Feb. 17, 2009 transition date. But Martin says recent trends suggest that rate will rise. Add to that the addition of nursing homes and post office boxes to the rolls of eligible households, and "it is difficult to predict whether the converter box program is adequately funded," wrote Martin.
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Well now - here it is October and Quig finds himself wanting to say "I told you so" but he won''t - not yet anyway. This my fellow American''s is another clear example of policy makers acting like business people. AMERICA - LAND OF - Ooops, we goofed, print some more money. As a tax payer I simply would like to know one thing....How does this as well as most of lil''Kev''s work product get evaluated on his annual performance review?
Quigley Spargus - 10/13/2008 3:33:00 PM EDT -
Does anyone really have a clue what's going on? I think I remember reading that not a whole lot of coupons are actually being redeemed before the expiration. That would mean there should be a lot of money left over. A constant evaluation should be in order. Isn't anyone keeping track of all this?
By the way, the idea of extending the deadline is just absurd. It would just cater to all the procrastinators.
matt headley - 10/8/2008 1:21:00 PM EDT -
The Acting Administrator at NTIA, Merideth Baker, should be fired. Didn't she just tell Congress there was plenty of money for the converter boxes. She's a disgrace who has been looking for a job in the telecom industry for the past nine months instead of doing her job.
Diego Rosso - 10/8/2008 12:10:00 AM EDT -
Congress: How much more do you have to hear? Delay the analog switch-off until Aug. 31st, 2011, the Canadian deadline, then convene hearings to sort out this mess and reset the program. If there were NO coupon program, these boxes would be selling for $25 retail -- the price of an off-brand DVD player. Do the delay bill now, before Congress adjourns, to reduce the embarrassment of having to do it when millions of disenfranchised antenna-dependent viewers are screaming at you through their phones and "the internets."
Adam Smith - 10/7/2008 9:00:00 PM EDT
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