Stations in Valley OK delay on digital

By Guy D’Astolfo

The FCC has denied more than a hundred requests for early transition.

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley’s three over-the-air broadcast television stations will continue to broadcast in analog until June 12, the new digital-TV transition date set by Congress.

The original transition date was Feb. 17, but Congress decided last month to move that date back by about four months to give people more time to get ready.

People who do not have a digital-ready television and get their signal via antenna — without a cable or satellite provider — need to buy and install a converter box. The Federal Communications Commission gave out $40 coupons good toward purchasing converters, but the program ran out of money late last year.

Stations did have the option of sticking to the Feb. 17 transition date, but had to first gain FCC approval.

Youngstown’s WYTV Channel 33 and WKBN Channel 27 decided to continue to broadcast in analog until June, said Gary Coursen, news director of those stations. So did WFMJ Channel 21, said Jack Stevenson, its marketing director.

According to a public notice filed Wednesday by the FCC, 491 of the nation’s nearly 1,800 full-power broadcast stations requested permission to switch to digital on Feb. 17. The FCC denied 123 of those requests on the grounds it was not in the public interest. Too many viewers would be left without access to local news, public affairs and emergency information, the notice said.

“The FCC overrode those because they thought the markets weren’t ready,” said WFMJ’s Stevenson. “We want to make sure everyone is ready. It’s in our best interest to give people more time to get converter boxes. There will be less audience erosion.”

Stevenson said the FCC probably recognizes that the Youngstown market has many older residents who might need extra time to get ready. “It’s a cost factor for them,” he said.

Bob Flis, chief engineer for WFMJ, echoed that sentiment. When asked if the Youngstown market was ready for DTV, he said “In my opinion, no market is ready.”

Many people throughout the country either did not get converter box coupons or they let them expire, he said.

In deciding whether to grant a request for an early transition, the FCC looked at the number of people on the coupon waiting list in the station’s market, said Flis.

In markets where all of the stations requested the Feb. 17 transition, the FCC required at least one of them to continue in analog.

Stations have a financial incentive for making the transition, said Flis, because they will no longer have to bear the expense of maintaining two signals. All stations have been broadcasting in both digital and analog for months, if not years. WFMJ has maintained a digital signal since September 2006.