From WNYC in New York, this is NPR's On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield.

And I'm Brooke Gladstone. This week was the week. The country was supposed to switch all together and forever from analog TV broadcast to digital.

But even though Congress and the FCC began talking about a transition in 1996, and the legislation that outlined the

changeover was signed three years ago, we, the people, weren't ready. So Congress postponed

the deadline from this Tuesday to June 12th. Still, more than 400 broadcasters and smaller markets

did opt to turn off their analog signals and switch to digital broadcast.

And they launched furious public education campaigns to pave the way.

Too little, too late. Many viewers woke up this week to blank televisions.

Washington Post reporter Kim Hart has been covering the transition.

Kim, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having me.

So could you tell me again why we're doing this?

Sure. Well, this is all part of a plan that was designed to reclaim the spectrum that the over-the-air broadcasters and network broadcasters have been using for over half a century.

The reason they wanted to do that

is because they wanted to give them back to public safety organizations so that they could use

them for their first responders' communication networks, as well as make some money for the government

and sell them at an auction to wireless companies like Verizon and AT&T. Now, what we're talking about,

obviously, is switching from over-the-air broadcast, once accessible

to anyone who has a bent coat hanger and a TV, to digital reception, which most people get

through cable or satellite receivers. How many people still rely on the rabbit ears?

Well, anywhere between about 10 million and 20 million households, especially in rural areas.

Internet doesn't reach all the way out to where they live.

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