Analog TV shutoff moved to June 12th (Sort of…)

As expected, the US House voted on Wednesday to move the digital TV conversion date to June 12th, so we can all breathe a sigh of relief right?

Not exactly. In fact, many stations will still shut off their analog transmitters on February 17th as planned.

This is because the language of the legislation is such that broadcasters are not required to go Digital, but merely to vacate the analog frequencies by February 17th. Even though that date has been extended four months, many stations will still stop broadcasting in analog because of the cost issues.

The legislative decision is going to cause more confusion than it aimed to solve.

(Get an in-depth explanation after the jump!)

Instead of having one shutoff date, instead there will be a patchwork of analog stations still available, with likely no information to explain the discrepancy as the stations that stop broadcasting will not have an avenue to explain what happened.

Why keep the analog transmitters running at all? Some stations might think that it makes them a “big fish in a small pond”, cornering the analog market for the four months they have left to use the frequencies.

Some good may yet come of this legislation, however. It is extremely likely that the $40 digital converter box program will get a new injection of funding from the current economic stimulus package being batted around Congress right now. If that happens, more people will probably be prepared by June 12th, but won’t know why they can only get that one Fox affiliate that plays Girl Gone Wild promos on a continuous loop.

So what do you think. Are you more confused than ever? Do you even know if you need to do anything to prepare for the switch? Powet.TV is here to help. This month we will release a video about the switch over and what — if anything — you need to do to be ready. Better lat than never, right?

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Powet.TV: Digital TV switchover may be delayed until June