Indianapolis TV viewers, among the least prepared in the nation for the scheduled switchover to digital TV, are getting a reprieve.

The U.S. House voted Wednesday to delay the transition from Feb. 17 to June 12, ending an on-again, off-again battle over the effective date.

President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign the bill into law, pushed for the delay after the federal government ran out of the coupons that help consumers buy the $40 to $80 converter boxes needed for analog sets to receive over-the-air digital signals.

About 1.8 million households nationwide are on the waiting list.

The Senate had approved the measure unanimously.

Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., voted for the measure. And for good reason. His Indianapolis-based congressional district has the nation's longest waiting list for the $40 coupons.

He said the delay is necessary to make certain the 8,511 Indianapolis households on the waiting list can continue to receive TV weather alerts, like the ones that recently allowed them to prepare for more than a foot of snow.

"By having access to those alerts, thousands of my constituents were able to remain safe," Carson said.

Carson joined Indiana's four other Democratic House members in voting for the delay, while the state's four Republican House members opposed it.

Even though Carson's district has the longest waiting list, that doesn't mean it's the least prepared. That distinction belongs to Albuquerque, N.M., where 12 percent of households are without a TV that can receive the digital signal, according to the Nielsen Co.

Indianapolis has the 15th-worst preparedness rate among the 56 markets surveyed, with 7 percent of households unable to receive a digital signal.

No one knows exactly why so many Indianapolis residents are unprepared for the switch. Some think it could just be good old procrastination.

A spokesman for Carson was stumped but said it could be because the district has a higher number of low-income families and seniors on fixed incomes than some portions of the country. Marion County's median household income of $45,071 a year is below Indiana's $47,448 and the nation's $50,233.

Barbara Edmond, an Indianapolis woman who ordered her converter boxes months ago and still hasn't received them, suggested that digital TV just isn't a priority for some people.