TV Eye

Don't go chucking the rabbit ears just yet.

Ain't democracy grand?

Last week, I reported that the DTV transition was going forward, as planned, on Feb. 17. President Obama had asked for a delay to allow consumers (and the governing bodies set up to aid in the transition) to be better prepared. While the Senate passed legislation to approve a delay, the House did not. The Senate passed the bill again last Thursday (as last week's Chronicle hit the streets), sending it to the House for another shot. Because of how our system works, the second run of the legislation by the House now only requires a majority vote, not a two-thirds vote like the first time. Therefore, it is expected to pass, and Obama will sign the bill soon thereafter. If all of this happens (which now seems likely), the DTV transition will be delayed till June.

Why all the fuss? It depends on where you stand.

For consumers, it gives you more time to find, purchase, and set up a digital converter box that will enable your TV not connected to cable or satellite service to receive the new signal. It allows the federal government to find some more cash to fund and distribute coupons to the million or so consumers who requested coupons but did not get them because the coffers ran dry. The broadcast-TV industry is probably very happy. February is a sweeps month. The lingering effect of the writers' strike pushed series premieres well into January, and losing viewers who are just now migrating back to TV during sweeps month is highly undesirable. But June is typically filled with reruns and less-expensive-to-produce reality series.

If you're AT&T or Verizon, you may be a little miffed. Both companies doled out millions of dollars to purchase the spectrum freed up by the DTV conversion in order to improve their services. They've kept mum during the ongoing "DTV: Now or later?" discussion. But small TV stations are piping up, according to a Feb. 1 article in TV Week. The sour economy is only making the DTV transition more difficult for small stations in markets that serve rural and/or poor communities, already cash-strapped. Locally, most of the area network affiliates are broadcasting in digital and analog until the final transition date comes to pass and analog broadcasts go away forever.

So why switch? Aesthetically, DTV promises a crisper image in addition to being more efficient. But more importantly, it opens spectrum space for shared use by local and federal agencies. The need for this was demonstrated during the Hurricane Katrina debacle. Agencies that should have been working together found themselves either at odds or completely shut off from one another, making for one of the worst responses to a national disaster in contemporary times. While only 5.7% of U.S. households are reported not to be DTV-ready, an overwhelming number of those households live in poverty, are ethnic minorities, elderly, or live in rural communities. The Obama administration is opting to keep everyone connected on the analog system for now, in case the unthinkable happens, while using the extra time to enable consumers and small broadcasters the resources needed to move into the DTV age.

Fan Alert

After a couple of delays and much behind-the-scenes chatter, Joss Whedon's long-awaited Dollhouse premieres on (gulp) Friday the 13th. Typically, that time slot is considered the worst real estate in broadcast prime time. But the network has pretty much promised to let Dollhouse air all 13 episodes – no matter what the early ratings look like – in order to allow the show to gain traction, build an audience, and perhaps go on for more episodes. So, in that way, Friday the 13th is looking pretty lucky. Still, Whedon needs to attract more than his existing fans, who are an ardent but relatively small bunch.

Dollhouse premieres Friday at 8pm on Fox.

Cable channel TNT will host a live Web chat with Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), Tom Cavanagh (Ed), and other stars of the new series Trust Me on Monday, Feb. 9, from 10 to 11pm. Log on at www.tnt.tv.

As always, stay tuned.