President Elect Obama's DTV transition staff has found major difficulties in the digital TV transition set to take place Feb. 17.

The co-chairman of the team, John Podesta, asked Congress to consider a delay, saying government funds supporting the change are "woefully inadequate," reports MediaBuyerPlanner.

ABC and NBC support the delay, while PBS frets that children in less-affluent homes that rely on free television would lose access to its educational shows for kids, writes The New York Times.

Recent demand for government coupons to outfit old TVs with technology digital-ready signal receptors was higher than expected. At last count, over 100,000 consumers were on waiting lists to receive them.

Podesta’s letter to Congress said that the number of unfulfilled coupon requests could jump by hundreds of thousands per day. With "the most vulnerable Americans exposed" — that is, senior citizens and the underprivileged — "I urge you to consider a change to the legislatively mandated cutoff date," he wrote.

Viewers without a television able to receive digital signals, and that aren't subscribed to a cable or satellite service, will be unable to receive TV signals after the switch. In December, Nielsen estimated that number at 7.8 million households.

Earlier this week, the Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports) wrote to Congress, also arguing for a delay. Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for the group, said in a release that, "The federal government is getting $19 billion from selling the analog TV spectrum, while people with analog TVs have to go out and spend their own money for a converter box.

"Everyone affected by the digital switch should be able to get their $40 coupons. Congress needs to consider delaying the transition until these problems are fixed."