The dramatic plot over the future of television has thickened, with the Senate Budget Committee declaring it is not in love with either a White House proposal or one being pushed by Republican lawmakers.

Whether to auction new digital-television air frequencies or simply give them to broadcasters is the basic source of conflict in the saga.A group of Republicans led by Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wants the government to auction off all the frequencies earmarked for digital television services immediately.

President Clinton favors an administration plan to give broadcasters new licenses but require them to turn over by 2005 the old analog-television licenses which would be auctioned for new purposes.

Both those plans would result in billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury. Broadcasters, however, consider both Clinton and the Republicans to be the bad guys and themselves to be wearing the white hats. They want to keep the analog-frequency licenses and be given new licenses for digital programming free.

They say that is the only way to rescue the American public from being forced to buy new digital televisions or converter boxes or losing free television channels.

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In the early chapters of the drama, this page supported Dole and McCain in their assertion that giving away new licenses would be a form of corporate welfare costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Broadcasters' claim that buying the licenses would force them to charge for all television channels just didn't hold water and still doesn't.

The White House plan, however, deserves some study. It would give consumers time to be educated about digital transmissions, which can include theater-quality picture and sound as well as the capability to squeeze five or six channels into the space where one is aired now. It could also provide high-speed data services, even communication services such as paging.

One thing is certain: The only way this tale will have a happy ending is if broadcasters pay for the new licenses. The public can't afford to give away billions of dollars in revenue.

The coming of digital television is inevitable. Consumers will have to purchase new sets, but they shouldn't also have to subsidize broadcasters.

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