Nevermind! Stations backpedal from their pledge to shut off analog signals early

No sooner had the electrons begun to form -- or whatever the Internet version of ink drying is -- on my Page 1 story about local broadcasters switching off their analog signals on Feb. 17 than the owners of Kansas City's broadcast TV stations started to rewrite the story.

"We're gonna wait until the 12th," said one local station person. As in June 12th, the new DTV deadline Congress had agreed on earlier in the week.

"It was a corporate decision. It was kind of a surprise." That was the refrain late this morning as I checked in with each of the city's commercial broadcasters.

By early afternoon, all the stations in town that said on Thursday they were sticking to Feb. 17 told TVB they would hold off killing their analog television until June 12.

"Thank you, Mr. Obama," said KSHB-KMCI general manager Craig Allison -- and before you get on his case, I completely agree.

"It's a PC thing," said Allison, after learning that his fellow station owners had decided to honor the new DTV deadline. "No one wants to make the new president mad." And no one wants to be the only TV station in the market jumping headlong into the digital age. So once one station decided it was going analog (and honestly, I don't know which one decided first), all the stations followed. After all, there are not one but two ratings books between now and June 12.

But make no mistake, this is political correctness at its silliest. No one wants to make enemies of the Obama Administration, so they will eat hundreds of thousands of dollars in extra costs over the next four months to keep regulators happy, even though it will likely benefit an almost statistically insignificant number of viewers.

This despite the fact that at most, AT MOST, 3.77 percent of Kansas City households are unprepared for the digital transition ... and according to broadcasters I've spoken to, that number is too alarmist because the methodology counted households that were, in point of fact, mostly ready.

"The statistics that are being put out there are inflated for a variety of reasons, one of which is that some of those homes that are 'not prepared' have gotten boxes, they just haven't hooked them up; or they have cable and satellite but some other TVs in their homes may not be hooked up to it," said Kent Cornish, executive director of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters.

Cornish confirmed that broadcasters in Topeka and Wichita were all adhering to their Feb. 17 shutoff plans, and another source told TVB that Nebraska TV stations weren't budging either. The reason, in all likelihood, is that GMs there were able to prove that even using Nielsen's most inflated figures, hardly anyone in their viewing area wasn't with the program.

Meanwhile back in KC ...

"We have made a decision to delay the transition until June 12th, assuming my old transmitter will hold up," said KMBC-KCWE GM Wayne Godsey. He laughed, then added, "We'll make sure it does."

But Godsey, who runs the only all-digital station in the market -- KCWE switched in December for technical reasons -- said he and his fellow station managers were right to assume that they would be turning their analog signals off in February. After all, they were ready, and statistics told them that almost all their viewers were, too.

"I think broadcasters throughout this whole experience did what they were asked to do, when they asked to do it. But the more that we found out about the government coupons, the program that ran out of money, even though we are ready to go on February 17th, this will allow for more consumer education, more consumer preparation, and allow the government to fix the coupon program. Hopefully!"

Ion TV's KPXE is considering keeping to its Feb. 17 deadline, but station manager Frank Barajas couldn't confirm what corporate would decide (Ion, which multicasts the Qubo kids' channel, is privately owned).

Anyway, you've got another four months to fine-tune your signals, or buy lifeline cable or an outdoor antenna. Use it wisely.

A couple of notes about today's print story: One, I didn't write the headline. I'm well aware that all stations are currently broadcasting simultaneously in analog and digital. (Change two letters -- "KC likely to turn to digital TV earlier" -- and the headline is fine.) Second, this sidebar didn't appear in the print edition, so I reproduce it here, combined with a sidebar that's running in Sunday's paper (which went to press before all of this news broke).

How to make the switch

While fewer than 4 percent of area homes are "completely unready" for DTV, many homes have a basement or bedroom TV that isn't hooked up to cable and depends on over-the-air signals.

Unless that set is DTV-ready or has a DTV converter box attached, it won't get anything after June 12, when every station in the U.S. must shut off its analog signals. stations begin shutting off their analog signals.

If you received a coupon for $40 off a converter box but let it expire before purchasing one, you may now reapply for an additional coupon. Visit www.DTV2009.gov or call 888-DTV-2009 for details.

Every over-the-air TV station in Kansas City is currently broadcasting in digital. DTV signals are transmitted differently from analog, and the methods you use to receive analog TV signals may not work for DTV. (If you have cable or satellite, don't worry.) If your converter box is properly connected but not getting all the signals, here are some tips from engineers at those stations:

Kansas City's DTV stations all broadcast on UHF except for KMBC, but it's switching to UHF soon. Rabbit ears, which improve reception for VHF signals only, are useless.

Consider buying a UHF indoor antenna to boost reception of signals. Connect the antenna either to your converter box or directly to your TV if it's DTV-ready.

In some cases, an outdoor antenna may be the only way to ensure proper reception of hard-to-get signals.

Do you need cable?

A couple of weeks ago, Time Warner Cable invited journalists to cover a vision of hell: a room with six TV sets hooked up to converter boxes, and all the pictures flickering in and out of recognition due to spotty signals.

Since then, I've heard from pretty reputable readers who say that not only can you get a perfectly good DTV signal over the air with a little tweaking, but the picture quality runs circles around the compressed, muddy-looking picture Time Warner and other cable and satellite providers offer.

"We have been viewing DTV at home for almost ten years beginning when KCPT-DT was the only area DTV station on the air," writes longtime reader Dave Pomeroy, a former manager at Topeka's KTWU, now retired. "I have found that for the most part indoor antennas (especially rabbit ears) do not work well. Using a good outdoor UHF antenna at home here in Topeka we can easily receive all of the the Kansas City DTV stations."

That's right, he's watching all the Kansas City stations from 65 miles away and pulling their signals in just fine. In fact, Pomeoroy is now receiving clear pictures from Fox 4, KCTV-5 and KSMO for the first time ever. Their analog signals were too snowy and crackly.