NTIA: Coupon Waiting List Shrinks, But Only Slightly
Over a million households still on waiting list.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/2/2009 7:55:16 AM MT
Over a million households who say they rely on analog television remain on the waiting list for DTV-to-analog converter box coupons, with over 600 TV stations having already pulled the plug on analog.
That's according to the latest figures from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, which is overseeing the converter box coupon subsidy program. NTIA is still waiting for the Office of Management and Budget to free up $650 million in converter box coupon funding so it can get 2.3 million households off the waiting list.
The good news is that the list is no longer growing. NTIA said Monday that the list shrunk by about 144,000 applications over the past three days.
Once the $650 million allocated for coupons and DTV education in the economic stimulus package is freed up, it will still take two or three weeks to get get those requests off the waiting list. That list was the driving force behind the Obama administration's push to move the DTV hard date from Feb. 17 to June 12.
