Bush Wants to Revive Digital TV Fees Mon Feb 7, 2005 11:04 PM ET By Brooks Boliek WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - President Bush is attempting to revive a plan that would require broadcasters to pay a $500 million fee for use of their current analog TV channels in 2007. The plan is part of the $2.57 trillion budget proposal Bush presented to Congress on Monday. While Bush has pushed the plan in previous budget proposals to no avail, it could see some action in the 109th Congress as pressure is mounting to get broadcasters to make the switch to digital TV. In the past, broadcasters could depend on their allies in Congress to kill the plan. But one of their key supporters, Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., the former chairman of the House Commerce Committee, has retired. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, runs the committee now, and he is decidedly less friendly to the industry. Currently, broadcasters are required to stop analog transmissions at the end of 2006, or when 85% of the American TV viewing audience receives a digital signal, whichever comes later. The 85% number has long been considered an unreachable goal. Last week, Barton warned broadcasters that he is out of patience, telling reporters that he wants Congress to enact a "hard date" that would force broadcasters to shut off their analog transmissions by year's end. Proposals to stop analog broadcasts so the frequencies can be auctioned off have become more appealing because of budgetary pressure, Barton said. ... http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=televisionNews&storyID=7562718 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.