Sides agree on DTV transition requirement

Television and cable-industry insiders have told Congress they are firmly committed to Dec. 31, 2008, as the cutoff date to end TV analog broadcasts, but the two groups are wrangling over a proposed digital must-carry rule -- which might push back the date."Broadcasters want to ensure that all of their signals are seen by as many viewers as possible," said Sen.Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which held hearings Tuesday on the TV-formatting issue."Cable wants time to proceed with their own digital transition and doesn't want to have to immediately deploy cable converter boxes to all of their analog subscribers."