President-elect Barack Obama has joined a growing number of people urging Congress to postpone the Feb. 17 switch from analog to digital television broadcasting.

In a letter to key lawmakers, transition team co-chair John Podesta warned Thursday that too many Americans who rely on analog TV sets to pick up over-the-air broadcasts won't be ready.

The incoming administration is pushing for a delay in part because the Commerce Department has run out of money for the coupons that subsidize digital TV converter boxes for consumers. The Commerce Department announced Monday there is now a waiting list for anyone applying for coupons. People who don't have cable or satellite TV or a new TV with a digital tuner will need the converter boxes to keep their analog TVs working.

Obama officials are also concerned that the government is not giving consumers enough help with the TV transition.

On Wednesday, Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, said that Congress should consider delaying the transition.

"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," said Joel Kelsey, policy analyst for Consumers Union. "Everyone affected by the digital switch should be able to get their $40 coupons."

Consumers Union also questioned the capacity of the Federal Communications Commission's national call center that will handle calls after the switch.

Others are also blasting the government over the way the switch is being handled.

Paula Kerger, president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting System, said Wednesday that the waiting list is inexcusable and called for immediate federal action.

It's especially crucial because "people are making very hard economic choices in their households" and more are depending on free, over-the-air television instead of cable or satellite, Kerger told a meeting of the Television Critics Association.

Even those in the government themselves have been expressing fears about the switch.

At an FCC meeting last month, Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein raised alarms, saying, "I'm afraid the DTV transition isn't ready for prime time yet. I'm afraid it's going to be messy."

He also expressed concern that consumers in fringe areas don't yet realize the signal area for the DTV signals will be slightly different than analog signals and that some could lose signals.

There is some relief for viewers who won't be ready for the switch though. President George W. Bush signed a law in late December that will extend the cut-off for 30 days for the limited purpose of broadcasting emergency information and key details about the transition for consumers left out in the cold.