The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has reported an increase in DTV coupon requests in some markets affected by the retransmission consent dispute between LIN TV and Time Warner Cable. In an attempt to gain negotiation leverage and higher retransmission fees from a cable provider, LIN TV blacked out 15 of its stations to as many as 2.7 million homes in 11 markets this past week. It has been reported that NTIA, the government agency responsible for distributing DTV convert coupons and certifying set top boxes in preparation for the February 17th, 2009 transition from analog to digital television signals, has seen an increase in the number of coupon requests in Austin, Ft. Wayne, and Springfield -- three of the markets affected by LIN TV's disruption of service.
