One-third of stations likely to want DTV delay
By Bill McConnell -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/1/2002 10:40:00 AM
More than one-third of U.S. television stations are expected to ask government permission to delay completion of digital facilities by the time a window for filing requests closes Friday.
As of Friday, March 1, 253 of the country's 1,100 full-power stations had asked the Federal Communications Commission to grant a six-month extension to the May 1 deadline since the agency began accepting delay requests two weeks ago. But nearly 400 are expected to have filed by the end of Monday.
That would be slightly higher than the 32 percent of the industry predicted by the National Association of Broadcasters in August. Since then, the Sept. 11 attacks and the recession made a shambles of the advertising market and seriously strained the finances of many stations.
Despite the heavy demand for delay, there is good news for government officials seeking to keep the transition to digital TV on track -- the overwhelming number of applicants said they need only a few extra months to complete construction, and most won't need a second six-month extension permitted by Congress.
"The bottom line is that most of these stations are going to be built this year," said David Donovan, president of digital-TV trade group the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV).
A.H. Belo Corp. and Clear Channel Communications Inc. were among the early requesters, and they blamed construction problems in several of their markets either on equipment delays, hazardous construction conditions caused by winter weather or difficulty scheduling construction crews.
Belo, which is on track with 14 stations, asked to delay digital-TV buildouts in Austin, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.; and for two outlets in Spokane, Wash.
Clear Channel asked to delay construction in Albany, N.Y.
