Another 158 TV stations to kill analog early

NEW YORK -- While most TV stations that still broadcast in analog are sticking to the June 12 shutdown date, 158 stations intend to turn those signals off before then, according to regulators.

Most of the 158 stations, about 15% of those still broadcasting in analog, are in smaller markets and don't broadcast any of the four major commercial networks. Exceptions include the NBC and ABC affiliates in Denver, which are shutting analog on April 16.

The list was released by the Federal Communications Commission late Tuesday.

More than 600 stations have already killed analog, with many of them shutting down around Feb. 17, the original deadline. That means just under half of the country's 1,759 TV stations will have ended analog transmissions before June 12.

PBS stations, many of which are financially strapped and don't want to bear the cost of keeping analog broadcasts, account for 58 of the stations that are set to shut down early, leaving 125 broadcasting in analog until June 12.

The Trinity Broadcasting Network, with religious programming, is shutting down analog early at 26 stations, leaving eight.

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The FCC could prohibit a station from shutting down early to make sure that people can get at least one station broadcasting in analog in their area.

The vast majority of full-power stations are already broadcasting digital signals, which can be received by newer digital TV sets or through converter boxes.

Nielsen Co. said that as of March 1, 4.5 million households that receive only over-the-air broadcasts haven't prepared for the analog shutdown. The figure includes households that have bought a converter box but haven't connected it.

The converter boxes are subsidized through a government coupon program that ran out of money in January, which was the main reason the nationwide mandate for the analog shutdown was postponed beyond the originally scheduled date of Feb. 17. The coupon program has received new funding through the national economic stimulus bill, and the government is working through its wait list.