Switch to digital TV may leave prisons with blank screens

Corrections officers fear the loss will bring unrest. But who pays for the converter boxes?

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The big switch to digital TV has prison officials scrambling to keep one of the most important peacekeeping tools in prisons across the nation -- broadcast television.

When the nation's broadcasters make the switch from analog to digital signals Feb. 17, televisions that aren't hooked up to cable, satellite or a converter box will be reduced to static. While TV might seem like an undeserved luxury for inmates, prison officials and inmates say the tube does more than fill idle hours -- it provides a sense of normalcy and is a bargaining chip that encourages good behavior.

The TV industry has spent months preparing consumers for the switch, running ads and offering government-funded coupons that can be redeemed for the converter boxes needed to display the digital signal on older TVs. But prisoners may be left to stare at blank screens, because they don't qualify for the $40 coupons.

"They won't give us the switches; we called them," said South Carolina Corrections Department Director Jon Ozmint. "We asked them for the coupons, and they said they're only available for households. I said, 'We're the big house.' But they didn't buy it."

Ozmint said state money won't be used to buy the undetermined number of converters South Carolina needs to keep its TVs running in common areas.

In North Carolina, 699 televisions in 26 of the state's 78 prison facilities get over-the-air broadcast TV. For instance, one prison in Taylorsville has 40 over-the-air TVs, Department of Correction spokesman Keith Acree said.

The agency is trying to determine whether multiple televisions can be hooked up to a single converter box, or whether each TV will need a converter box, he said.

In Florida, corrections department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said officials are asking for donations for the digital boxes and might buy the converters themselves.

But that's something that may need legislators' approval, because Florida law bars spending money on perks like cable TV for inmates.

"It's important because it's an inmate idleness issue," Plessinger said. "[We're] concerned about inmates acting up if they're bored."