[Jeffhs]

While rescanning my flat-screen TV today, I noticed that the TV will scan first for analog channels, then for digital ones; in my area the set will find 66 analog and 44 digital channels on the cable (Time Warner). I'm more than a bit confused. Why are there still analog TV stations in the US, when analog television was done away with on June 12, 2009? Do cable systems operate under different rules than do broadcast stations? That is, are cable operators still permitted to carry analog NTSC signals and digital ATSC ones on the same cable? This doesn't seem right to me. My understanding was that on June 12, 2009 all analog television, including on cable, would be discontinued and everything, with no exceptions whatsoever, would be digital. How do the cable companies get away with carrying analog NTSC signals in this day and age? Will there ever be a day when there will be no more NTSC analog signals on any cable system? Most if not all flat-screen TVs have tuners capable of receiving NTSC, ATSC and clear QAM signals, so there should be no problem with any modern TV's ability to receive the new digital channels. I am just curious as to when or if analog NTSC signals will disappear from U. S. and Canadian cable TV systems.