Today I came across a couple of Associated Press articles updating the status of the (U.S.) government sponsored program. There's some overlap to the articles, but the gist is that the coupons are scheduled to be mailed tuesday, Feb. 19th (thus starting the 90 day countdown to expiration), and that cable and satellite TV services are expected to gain a significant number of new subscribers (presumably long time holdouts for whatever reasons) as many folks finally choose that route rather than the converter boxes...
Analog TV Owners Tune in Next Week: Converter-Box Coupons Are Coming to Mailboxes Everywhere
The federal government said Friday it will begin mailing out $40 coupons next week to consumers to help pay for converter boxes that will save their analog sets from becoming obsolete.
______________
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration agency is overseeing the $1.5 billion coupon program to subsidize converter-box costs, estimated to run between $40 and $70. More than 2.6 million households have requested nearly 5 million coupons since Jan. 1, the agency said.
More than 9,700 stores, including those operated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Best Buy Co. Inc., Circuit City Stores Inc., Target Corp. and RadioShack Corp., will be selling the special equipment in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Consumers have 90 days to use the coupons, which resemble plastic gift cards, or they expire.
The expiration date comes too quickly for many on Capitol Hill, who are sure to hear from constituents tangled in the transition.
About 20 House Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday sent a letter to the NTIA to allow consumers with expired coupons to reapply for new ones. An agency spokesman said NTIA will have a better understanding of the coupon program in the coming months and will work with congressional staff to examine the expiration issue.
______________
Consumers can apply online at http://www.dtv2009.gov or call the 24-hour hot line, 1-888-DTV-2009 (1-888-388-2009). They can also fax a coupon application to 1-877-DTV-4ME2 (1-877-388-4632) or mail one to P.O. Box 2000, Portland, OR 97208-2000. The program expires March 31, 2009.
That part about some congressmen wanting to allow folks to re-apply if a coupon expires troubles me just a tiny bit. Is there perhaps some significant snag being anticipated? I hope not and I doubt it as I think it likely that they're just anticipating some consumer misunderstanding, especially among the non-English speaking population.
Cable, Satellite Operators Could Gain Subscribers As Analog TV Signals Stop in 1 Year
A Nielsen Co. study released Friday found that 16.8 percent of all U.S. households have at least one analog television set that would not work following the switch. And Hispanics are nearly twice as likely as whites to be without TV reception.
______________
A government program said Friday that it will begin sending out coupons Tuesday worth $40 each to any U.S. household that requests them to subsidize buying a box. Each household is entitled to two coupons for the boxes, which are just coming into stores now, start at $40 or $50, making this option easy and practically free. The government says it has funds for 33 million coupons.
______________
According to a report Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. released Friday, an estimated 1.4 million households will likely switch to pay TV service as a result of the digital TV transition - enough to significantly lift the growth rates for the cable industry in 2009, compared to recent years.
Chris Murray, senior counsel for Consumers Union, says his organization is watching that pay TV operators don't take advantage of confusion over the digital transition to push people into buying cable to view digital TV broadcasts. It isn't necessary.
UPDATE 2/17: Not sure that it means the boxes are actually available, but I suppose it at least indicates which local stores should be carrying them if folks visit www.dtv2009.gov and click on "Locate a TV Converter Box Retailer near you" to enter a home address as a base point from which to search for converter box vendors.
However, it appears fairly obvious that major chain discount department stores and the big box electronics stores should be carrying them, so they shouldn't be too hard to find once they're generally on shelves and available in your area. The only concern I might have would be if some stores might order limited stock and sell out fairly quickly, thus necessitating some running around looking for an alternative source.
Feedburner
No comments:
Post a Comment