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Buried in the United Senate’s budget bill that narrowly passed this week was a requirement that television broadcasters switch from analog to digital signals by early 2009.

Consumers with older television sets are expected to benefit from $1.5 billion that has been earmarked to help offset the cost of new televisions. Media sources report that satellite or digital cable subscribers will be unaffected.

Despite the huge amount of funds available under the proposed program (which still must be approved by the House of Representatives), consumer advocates are hopping mad.

“The consumer compensation program established in this program is unworkable, unfair and unacceptable to consumers,” said Jeannine Kenney of Consumers Union. “It provides only a fraction of the funds needed to compensate consumers for the costs of a digital transition they never asked for. And by requiring consumers to jump through restrictive hoops to request vouchers, those who most need compensation will be the least likely to receive it.”

According to Consumers Union, more than $2 billion extra will be required for all Americans to switch to the new digital signals, even by 2009.

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Two weeks ago, Consumer Help Web published an entry about FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s call for a la carte cable television pricing. It turns out that Martin’s agency may not have the authority to do anything.

According to a story in today’s Washington Post, FCC spokesperson Donna Gregg told a Media Institute gathering that the agency is studing whether it has the authority to compel change.

Gregg’s comments follow a rather weak statement made Monday by Martin, who said, “I am pleased that some cable companies may respond to consumer demand and begin to voluntarily offer family tiers.”

If “family tiers” seems at odds with “a la carte”, you are not alone. It strikes us that way too.

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Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin, whose term expires in June, raised eyebrows across the nation today when a Wall Street Journal report said he would take on the cable indstry’s pricing practices. According to the paper, Martin would tell a Senate panel today that selling cable television by channel rather than in bundles “could be economically feasible and in consumers’ best interests”.

Known as a la carte pricing, the methodology is rejected by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. That trade group’s web site states, “In November of 2004, the FCC issued a report that found that “government intervention through a la carte regulation likely will hurt MPVDs (multichannel video programming distributors), program networks, and especially MVPD subscribers.” This report followed on the Government Accountability Office findings in 2003 that a la carte could result in higher prices for fewer channels.”

Martin’s comments do apparently contradict those studies, including the one led by then-chairman Powell in 2004. The FCC does not have authority to mandate pricing and can only advise in such matters.

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