How long can the FCC and Congress draw out the DTV transition? Will June 12, 2009 be the final deadline?
They strongly encourage stations to assist viewers during the 30 day period following the DTV transition. They urge stations not on the list of eligible stations to seek approval from the FCC to participate. The stations are responsible for the program content.
3. We strongly encourage all eligible stations to participate in the provision of a nightlight service to assist consumers during the 30day period following the digital transition. We also urge stations that are not on the preliminary list of eligible stations to determine whether they can participate and to seek Commission approval by demonstrating that they will not, in fact, cause harmful interference to any other digital station, or to coordinate with another broadcaster in their service area to share the costs of Analog Nightlight operation on a qualifying station that serves their viewers. While some stations may not be able to broadcast transition and public safety information on their analog channels after February 17, 2009 because of interference to digital signals or other technical constraints, we strongly encourage all stations to work together to ensure that at least one station serving each community provides a nightlight service to assist that community. The station whose channel is being used to provide
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the nightlight service will remain responsible for the content of the programming.
FCC list of nightlight stations
http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2009/db0115/FCC-09-2A2.pdf
