Why TV Is Not a Right

February 17, 2009 · by Steve Alvarez

I have to admit; I was excited when I first started receiving a digital television (DTV) signal at home back in 2005. At that time, I had an old projection TV that was capable of displaying a digital picture, so I had taken the plunge and bought a used set-top digital receiver to see what this DTV thing was all about. I have to admit, the seventy-five bucks I spent on that receiver was definitely worth it, as the picture and sound were nothing like I had witnessed before watching over-the-air TV programming. Now while some might think I was an early adopter of this technology, the truth is I was already behind as over-the-air DTV programming had already been in place in the top 10 US-markets since 2002, and had already been around in some areas since 1998 (41 TV stations to be exact).

I immediately began telling my family and friends about this…

…and urging them to take the “digital plunge” to experience a better picture and sound while watching TV at home. Of course, some of them listened and even came over to watch DTV, but in reality, not many cared enough to buy a digital television or a digital receiver at that time. So when good-ol’ Dubya signed the “Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005” mandating that all TV stations switch to DTV programming on February 17, 2009, I thought to myself “finally, everyone will be forced to enjoy TV as it was meant to be watched.” No more analog signals or 4:3 “boob-tubes”, or fuzzy snow when a station’s signal didn’t come in clearly. A day would finally come when everyone would be watching DTV in all its widescreen and surround-sound glory.

Well, that day has finally arrived, sort of. The thing is, our nation’s great political leaders believe that America just isn’t ready for the switch yet. They claim that 6.5 million households still aren’t ready for the transition. So, with less than two weeks to go before the transition day, Congress decided to pass a bill delaying this date until June 12th. Apparently, the initial proposals in 2002 of having this transition occur in 2006, the official passing of a law in 2006 to mandate the change on today’s date, the 3+ years of television commercials advocating this change, or the $1.34 billion Uncle Sam set aside for converter box coupons just wasn’t enough for people to prepare for this change.

You see, this is where I have my gripe. I think Americans have had plenty of time to become aware of this change and to do something about it. Sure, maybe not everyone can afford a new digital television set, or even cable/satellite to avoid making the change, but if TV is that important to you, then you can probably spend the $50-60 it costs to buy a converter box. Why then does the government need to step in and mandate when television stations can or can’t go digital? Why does the government need to get involved in the first place? After all, I feel like television is a luxury, and not a right. The government shouldn’t have any obligation to protect someone’s ability to watch television. That $1.34 billion used for the converter box coupons, and the additional $650 million that Obama is signing into law today as part of the stimulus plan, could be used for a lot better things than helping people get television broadcasting. In our current economy, we’ve got schools being forced to cut programs or even close down, and thousands of state and government employees losing their jobs, and instead of putting more money into efforts to save those things, we’re writing out big, fat checks to help everyone sit on the couch and not miss a minute of their favorite American Idol and Desperate Housewives episodes. Ultimately, this isn’t the first or last time our government will hand out our tax money for senseless purposes (as we’ve all seen with their current attempts at jump-starting our economy), so while I can’t directly stop them from doing so, I can at least write about.

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