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Coupons For TV Transition Going Unused

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By RICHARD MULLINS

rmullins@tampatrib.com

Published: January 6, 2009

TAMPA - At least one thing is becoming clear about the digital TV transition just a month away.

People in the Tampa Bay area are a lot better at ordering government coupons to buy TV converter boxes than they are at using them.

Orders for coupons outnumber redemptions at stores by about a 3-1 ratio.

Those converter boxes will be vital for pretty much anyone who has a TV that's not connected to satellite or cable television. On Feb. 17, TV stations will turn off the analog signal they have broadcast for decades and use only digital broadcasts. Without the converter or connections, most TVs made before about 2004 will go blank.

Maybe people are holding out until the last minute or have ordered coupons whether they needed them or not. Also, each household is eligible for up to two coupons.

In ZIP codes starting with 33 (roughly West Central Florida), people ordered 1,160,059 free government coupons that take $40 off the cost of a converter box at retail stores, the latest figures show. Most boxes cost $40 to $70.

People in those ZIP codes have used only 402,434 coupons at stores to buy a converter box.

Meanwhile, the government program that subsidizes crucial TV converter boxes has run out of money and is putting consumers who apply for coupons on a waiting list. The Commerce Department said Monday that consumers might not receive their vouchers before the switchover.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department administering the coupon program, created the waiting list on Sunday after hitting a $1.34 billion funding limit set by Congress.

The agency will send out coupons to those on the list only as unredeemed coupons currently in circulation expire, freeing up more money for the program. The waiting list already has requests for 103,000 coupons.

For information on the transition, go to www.DTV2009.gov.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919.

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