Procrastinators, rejoice! There's now an additional four months until Pittsburgh's most-watched channels shut down their analog signals and switch to digital-only broadcasting.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 264-158 yesterday to postpone the shutdown of analog TV signals to June 12, to address growing concerns that too many Americans won't be ready by the Feb. 17 deadline that Congress set three years ago. The Senate passed the measure unanimously last week and the bill now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.

In Pittsburgh, ABC affiliate WTAE, CBS affiliate KDKA and NBC affiliate WPXI are expected to maintain their analog signals until June 12.

A provision in the legislation allows stations to make the switch sooner than June, with some stations planning to stick with the Feb. 17 date. Broadcasting & Cable.com reported that the Federal Communications Commission had heard from at least 276 stations that planned to move forward with analog shutoff this month.

In Pittsburgh, Sinclair-owned Fox station WPGH and My Network TV affiliate WPMY along with PBS stations WQED/WQEX expect to cease broadcasting in analog on Feb. 17, as planned. Christian station WPCB remains undecided. (CBS-owned CW affiliate WPCW can't begin broadcasting in digital until Channel 11 shuts down its analog signal.)

The change to digital is being mandated because digital signals are more efficient than analog ones. Ending analog broadcasts will free up valuable space in the nation's airwaves for commercial wireless services and emergency-response networks.

The delay is a victory for the Obama administration and Democrats in Congress, who maintain that the previous administration mismanaged efforts to ensure that all consumers -- particularly poor, rural and minority Americans -- will be prepared for the switchover.

The Nielsen Co. estimates that more than 6.5 million U.S. households that rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcast signals still are not ready. People who subscribe to cable or satellite TV or have a newer TV with a digital tuner will not be affected.

In southwestern Pennsylvania, only 7.7 percent of the homes -- about 85,000 of 1.1 million homes in the region -- receive only over-the-air broadcasts, according to Nielsen. But that percentage doesn't take into account homes where a primary set is hooked up to cable and other TV sets in the home receive over-the-air signals.

Viewers who have older TVs that receive signals over the air and use an antenna will need to connect a digital-to-analog converter box to their TVs. These viewers may also find an indoor antenna is insufficient, requiring the use of an outdoor antenna to receive digital signals. Different analog shutoff dates among local stations will allow viewers to experiment with reception from digital-only stations while still receiving analog stations. It also gives viewers time to wait out winter's snow before attempting to mount an antenna on the roof.

Yesterday's vote came one week after House Republicans blocked the bill under a special fast-track procedure that required two-thirds support to pass. This time, the bill passed the House under a regular floor vote, which requires a simple majority.

Opponents of a delay warned that the move will confuse consumers, create added costs for TV stations that will continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals for four more months and burden wireless companies and public safety agencies waiting for the airwaves that will be vacated by the switchover.

The new administration called for the digital transition to be postponed after the Commerce Department last month hit a $1.34 billion funding limit for coupons that subsidize converter boxes for consumers. The coupon program allows consumers to request up to two $40 vouchers per household to help pay for the boxes, which generally cost between $40 and $80 each and can be purchased without a coupon.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department administering the program, is sending out new coupons only as older, unredeemed ones reach a 90-day expiration date and free up more money. The NTIA has more than 3.7 million coupon requests on a waiting list -- and those people would not receive their coupons before Feb. 17.

A separate measure, part of the economic stimulus proposal working its way through Congress would add $650 million in funding for the coupon program.