DTV Grant Deadlines

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the Department of Agriculture, announces the Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program application window for fiscal year FY 2010. The FY 2010 funding for the Public Television Station Digital Transition Grant Program is $4.5 million. While TV stations must broadcast their main transmitter signal in digital, many rural stations have yet to complete a full digital transition of their stations across all equipment. Rural stations often have translators serving small or isolated areas and some of these have not completed the transition to digital. Because the FCC deadline did not apply to translators, they are allowed to continue broadcasting in analog. Some rural stations also have not fully converted their production and studio equipment to digital, which has impaired their ability to provide the same quality local programming that they provided in analog. Applications are due June 25, 2010.