Each household is eligible for two coupons, regardless of whether it has cable or satellite service. After the first $890 million worth of coupons are distributed, the federal government will allocate an additional $450 million in coupons, but only to households that rely on over-the-air signals. The rest of the program's $1.5 billion price tag is for administrative costs.
While there is enough money for 33.5 million coupons, the National Association of Broadcasters has estimated there are as many as 70 million TVs hooked up to antennas, including extra sets in homes with cable or satellite. Many of those sets can receive only analog signals, although sales of high-definition TVs, which include digital tuners, have soared in the past two years.
The federal law that mandates the digital conversion required NTIA to start offering coupons Jan. 1. But officials are urging people to wait before applying. The coupons will expire 90 days after they are issued to assure they don't go unused.
"We want to make sure that folks have the time to go in and redeem the coupon during that time period," Forbes said. He urged people to check their local stores and see what boxes are available before applying.
The agency has certified 11 brands of converter boxes from eight manufacturers, including Zenith and Magnavox, as eligible for the program. To keep the cost down, the government is certifying only boxes with limited capabilities, not with other functions such as digital video recorders or DVD players. The NTIA won't mail out the coupons until the boxes are in stores, Forbes said.
The NTIA is planning to start a public awareness campaign in mid-February, one year before the broadcasters switch off their signals and around the time some of the converter boxes will be available.
The National Association of Broadcasters, which has been running ads as part of a $698 million public education campaign, will launch new ones next month promoting the coupon program, said Shermaze Ingram, a spokeswoman for the group.
"We're integrating the converter box coupon program into everything we're doing," she said.
The coupon program is a major part of the government's transition to digital television. But many members of Congress have criticized the Bush administration's handling of it.
The Government Accountability Office said in November that there was "no comprehensive plan or strategy to measure progress and results" of the transition.
