power tv

Satellite companies gained a victory Thursday when the FCC voted to allow them to phase in a requirement that they carry all HD signals in any market where they carry any after the Feb. 17, 2009, switch to digital TV by all full-power TV stations.

The commission also ruled that DirecTV’s and Dish Network's requirement to carry all TV stations in a market where they carry any extends to DTV signals just as it applies to analog TV stations.

CEA president Gary Shapiro said Thursday that he thought the government should give viewers more time to cash in their digital-TV-to-analog converter-box coupons.

Shapiro said there was a growing consensus that viewers should be allowed to reapply for the coupons being handed out by the government toward the purchase of the converter boxes, which will allow viewers with analog-only sets not hooked to cable or satellite to still see full-power TV-station signals after Feb. 17, 2009.