digital television

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Netflix Scores Landmark Disney Movie Deal

Streaming service beats pay TV to rights to show new releases

(Newser) - In a deal Netflix calls a "bold leap forward for Internet television," the company has scored the rights to show new releases from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm starting in 2016, when Disney's deal with Starz Movies expires. Older Disney films will be available on Netflix immediately...

Fox Puts Streaming Behind Paywall

Soon only Dish, Hulu Plus subscribers will have immediate access to shows

(Newser) - If you "cut the cord" and canceled cable when Hulu came along, you may have to wait more than a week after new Fox TV shows air to watch them. Starting Aug. 15, Fox will only allow Dish Network or Hulu Plus subscribers to watch its shows online immediately...

96.7% of Homes Have TVs, 1st Drop in 20 Years

Rocky economy, online TV to blame: Nielsen

(Newser) - The rocky economy and an upswing in Internet viewing contribute to a surprising new statistic: In America, 96.7% of households have a television set—down from 98.9% previously. It's the first such drop in two decades, the New York Times notes. The Nielsen Company, which collected the...

Little Static in Digital TV Switch

(Newser) - The digital TV switch took place Friday, and you’d be forgiven for missing it. The FCC is patting itself on the back, USA Today reports, because the long-planned, long-delayed switch went off without any major hiccups. By Saturday, the FCC had fielded 315,000 calls from consumers, but that...

TV Stations Complete Shift to Digital
TV Stations Complete Shift to Digital
Jun 12, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

TV Stations Complete Shift to Digital

Millions of American viewers could lose signal today

(Newser) - As the US completes the shift to digital TV today, viewers in more than 2 million households will see nothing but static, according to Nielsen and broadcasters’ estimates. Those without signals are likely to be from poorer, rural, and older demographics, the Wall Street Journal reports—though Nielsen research finds...

Millions Still Unprepared for DTV Switch

(Newser) - Millions of Americans, particularly in urban and rural areas, will see their televisions go black when broadcasters switch to digital transmission next week, the New York Times reports. A Nielsen survey indicates that more than 10% of the 114 million homes with sets are partially or completely unprepared for the...

Stimulus Brings Back TV Converter Coupons

(Newser) - The agency that mails out coupons for digital TV converter boxes expects to eliminate its wait list in 2½ weeks, an official said today. Helped by $650 million from the economic stimulus package, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has started to mail out coupons to the 2.3 million...

House Rejects Digital TV Delay
 House Rejects Digital TV Delay 
Jan 28, 2009 2:07 PM CST

House Rejects Digital TV Delay

Republicans argue deferral will cost broadcasters

(Newser) - The House defeated a bill today to delay the switch to all-digital television, the Washington Post reports. The vote comes two days after the Senate approved extending the deadline to June 12 from Feb. 17, and is a defeat for congressional Democrats and the Obama administration, who want to give...

Senate Approves Delay for Switch to Digital TV

(Newser) - People who have not gotten their TV sets ready for the changeover to digital signals could earn a 4-month reprieve under a bill making its way through Congress, the AP reports. The Senate voted today to delay until June 12 the deadline for the changeover from analog to digital television...

Digital Switch Hits Glitches
 Digital Switch Hits Glitches 
Jan 21, 2009 5:26 AM CST

Digital Switch Hits Glitches

Ahead of transition, viewers struggle to receive digital signals

(Newser) - The big switch to digital TV may be less than a month away but many viewers are finding the transition anything but smooth, the Washington Post reports. Consumers are discovering that getting a converter box for older analog sets or buying a new digital TV doesn't always guarantee good reception....

Obama Wants to Delay Digital TV Switch

Too many people unprepared, he tells Congress in letter

(Newser) - The push to delay pulling the plug on analog television gained an important convert today: Barack Obama. The president-elect's transition team sent a letter to Congress urging it to push back the Feb. 17 conversion date to all-digital TV, the Los Angeles Times reports. It cited in particular the Commerce...

DTV Date Switch Gains Momentum in DC

Fund to aid consumers' conversion has run dry; June 1 may be alternative

(Newser) - Pressure from an influential consumer group and a change in attitudes on Capitol Hill may push back the mandated switch to digital television, Broadcasting & Cable reports. A letter from the Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, to key lawmakers and the Bush and Obama administrations urges them to reconsider...

Google Readies for Spectrum Showdown

As TV goes digital, tech giants, broadcasters vie for unused space

(Newser) - Google has launched an aggressive campaign to free up the soon-to-be-emptied "white spaces" of the TV spectrum for Internet devices and broadband access, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The spaces will open up when TV switches entirely to digital in February. Google and other tech giants are hotly...

Feds Warn of Scam on 'Free' Digital Converter Box

Better Business Bureau warns consumers on Miracle ClearView offer for analog TVs

(Newser) - Consumers beware: “Free” digital converter boxes for analog TVs, advertised in newspapers across the country, could run you $100—some $80 more than just buying a box using a government coupon. The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about the ad from Universal TechTronics, designed to look like...

TV Switch Will Catch Some Off-Guard, No Matter What

70M sets could be affected in digital move; half of owners won't know what to do

(Newser) - Roughly half of Americans who still own analog TVs aren’t ready for February's switch to digital broadcasting, a government report concludes. Consumers are confused about what to do, and will go dark if they fail to buy a converter box, buy a digital TV or sign up for satellite...

Digital Switch May KO Ratings
 Digital Switch May KO Ratings 
May 27, 2008 3:58 PM CDT

Digital Switch May KO Ratings

9.4% of US households are 'completely unready' for death of analog TV

(Newser) - Almost 25 million US homes own at least one set that will go dark when broadcast TV switches to digital next year—which could wreak havoc on ratings, the New York Times reports. Roughly 17% of network prime-time viewers are using unprepared TVs, according to Nielsen. Secondary TVs, like those...

FCC to Test TV's Digital Era in N. Carolina

Wilmington will be feds' guinea pig to phase out analog

(Newser) - Wilmington, NC, will be a test market for the switchover to all-digital television, the Wall Street Journal reports. The US as a whole is to change from analog signals by Feb. 17, but Wilmington could flip by Sept. 8 as broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commissions worry over how the...

LG Develops Way to Send TV to Cell Phones

Technology needs only inexpensive upgrades

(Newser) - LG has developed a new, low-cost means of wirelessly transmitting digital television signals to portable devices such as mobile phones, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new technology, called “MPH"—short for mobile-portable-handheld—requires an inexpensive augmentation to TV broadcasting equipment, and new receiver chips in future portable...

Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons
Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons
Jan 2, 2008 3:13 PM CST

Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons

Money will help those who still use antennas upgrade to digital before '09

(Newser) - For the estimated 14.3 million households still getting their TV via antenna, there’s hope: The federal government yesterday began handing out $40 coupons to help buy converters ahead of the 2009 digital cutoff, the AP reports. The problem, Congress says, is that few know about the $1.5...

Half of US Owns a Digital TV
Half of US Owns a Digital TV
Dec 29, 2007 4:56 PM CST

Half of US Owns a Digital TV

... And the rest need to get one, fast.

(Newser) - Digital TVs now grace 57 million US households—more than half the country—according to the Consumer Electronics Association. For glass-half-empty types, that means much of the country still isn’t ready for 2009, when TV will be digital only, Engadget reports. But the optimistic CEA is predicting big sales...

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