It’s a conundrum of sorts.

Tuesday, May 16, 2000

It’s a conundrum of sorts. The Federal Communications Commission is requiring all television stations to convert from their present system of transmitting signals to a digital system by 2003. Local public TV station KSMQ is among those that need to upgrade.

The upgrade comes with a price, though. For Channel 15, the cost for a digital transmitter is a minimum of $1.5 million, with an additional like amount needed to upgrade the master control at the station.

The state’s six public TV stations had asked this year’s state Legislature for $11.5 million to use for the conversion process. KSMQ would have gained $2.4 million out of the pot. The Legislature decided against digital public TV funding for this year.

If KSMQ is to move ahead with its digital plans, and it must, then it must take a different approach. Private funding may be needed to help meet its needs. And that’s always tough. Digital will bring Channel 15 at least a half-dozen streams of on-air programming, so it certainly is a good thing for our area.

We hope Q-TV can continue its efforts to bring digital public TV to our area. It won’t be easy, but there isn’t a choice.