Unruly Start for DTV Rules | A Role for the IRS?

UNRULY START FOR DTV RULES
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
The new rules of the road for the DTV­converter-box subsidy hadn't been made public for more than a few hours last week before some Democrats and Republicans began sparring over them. The plan, the lawmakers suggested, already has its share of potholes, with only nine months and counting before the coupon program is set to start. Here's some details on the program: 1) Households must request coupons from NTIA between Jan. 1 and March 31, 2009. 2) Consumer coupon requests will be taken via toll-free customer support center, Website, fax and mail. 3) Upon request, a maximum of two coupons will be sent to households via the United States Postal Service and will expire three months after they're mailed. 4) Each coupon will be worth $40 towards the purchase of an eligible converter box from a certified consumer-electronics retailer. Coupons have no cash value and may not be resold. (There is no prohibition on reselling the boxes, however.) 5) Coupons will be electronically trackable and uniquely numbered, similar to gift cards, so that transactions will be verified at point of sale. 6) Only one coupon may be redeemed per converter box.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6425817.html?display=News

LET THE IRS HELP WITH DTV
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] About 17% of the population -- more than 18.8 million households -- receive broadcast television over-the-air, not via cable or satellite. Many of them are elderly, poor or poorly educated. When the National Association of Broadcasters last month studied consumer awareness of digital issues, not one of the 800 over-the-air viewers represented in the survey could even guess when the digital transition was happening. And 57% of them said that they had “seen, read or heard nothing” about the digital transition. The government is plotting a puny $5 million publicity campaign to alert consumers. TV groups including the NAB will mount a more substantial campaign this fall. Even so, the transition isn't simple to understand, especially for older folks. B&C offers this plan: let people opt in to the DTV coupon plan by checking a box on their tax returns.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6425809.html?display=Opinion