Russ Edmunds wrote: > I'm still not betting against another extension.
I am. The process is too far along at this point, complete with negotiated channel elections for the stations that will move to permanent DTV assignments from their interim ones in 2009. Much of the spectrum that will be vacated by those interim assignments (like my locals on 58 and 59) has already been resold, and the new owners of that spectrum won't want to wait to get at it. (Qualcomm, which bought channel 55 nationwide, is already paying stations to vacate the channel early.) And for all the negativity about "useless" TV sets, I continue to maintain that many consumers - most, even - won't notice the end of OTA analog. I've already noted that I have only one set in the house that's OTA-only (not counting the DX rig), and it will be gone before 2009. My parents, who are hardly tech-savvy, have only one 5" B/W portable that's not hooked up to cable. My 91-year-old grandmother has both her sets hooked up to cable. My sister has both hers hooked up to Dish Network. Nothing will change for any of them in February 2009. The last stats that I've seen put US cable/dish penetration at well over 80% of households. Even adding in the "kitchen OTA TV" factor, I'm still convinced that more households will glide past the deadline without noticing it than will lose any service they've been using. We'll see, one way or another, in two and a half years... s _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://arizona.hard-core-dx.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
