WASHINGTON — A study by the Congressional Budget Office warns that the transition to digital TV will extend beyond the deadline mandated by Congress, creating the need for tough government mandates for cable operators to carry digital programming in order to speed the transition.
The report found that the unresolved question of carrying digital TV programming on cable systems means the DTV transition "will almost certainly continue beyond 2006 in any television market in which less than 85 percent of television households-the legally mandated goal for ending the transition-are considered DTV households."
The cable and broadcast industries have been at odds over whether cable operators should be compelled to carry digital broadcasts since the transition to digital TV began last year.
The cable industry has labeled a government mandate similar to the Federal Communications Commission's "must carry" rules for analog programming an unconstitutional "taking" of property. It has also argued that the 1997 balanced budget law, which specifies how spectrum licenses should proceed, gives regulators no authority to compel cable operators to offer digital broadcasts.
The Federal Communications Commission isn't expected to complete its review of the digital "must carry" issue until the end of the year or later. FCC Chairman William Kennard has warned the cable and broadcast industries to either work out their differences or the Commission will settle the issue for them.
