Senate Close to Deal to Delay Digital TV Rollout

It looks like the switchover from analog to digital TV won’t happen next month, as originally planned. The Senate is close to an agreement on a bill that would delay the rollout of digital TV to June 12th, instead of February 17th.

The bill is due up for a vote early next week. Democrats, including newly inaugurated President Barack Obama, have been pushing for the transition to be delayed. Those opposed to the rollout are
concerned that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to get their programming won’t be ready.

The Nielsen Company says more than 6.5 million American households still aren’t prepared for the upcoming transition. That means if the original deadline were to hold, their sets would go dark on February 17th,