In October 2020 wrote a comment here as JimH that stated:
“This conversion to ATSC 3 is voluntary because the FCC would not make it mandatory. I wonder if the FCC is really willing to take a beating for pushing ATSC 3 on the public, especially if the change degrades ATSC 1 reception or its display? I have serious doubts about it.”
See: Tablo ATSC 3.0 Plans 2021 - #44 by ronintexas
I recently read an article by a senior broadcast engineer that stated: (Emphasis is mine)
“Television set manufacturers along with STB vendors with units new and old have to figure the DRM issue out and fast! DRM decoding must be able to happen without the device being connected to the internet! If it doesn’t then ATSC 3.0 with DRM will be Code Blue. If there are bad storms, tornados, hurricanes around me and I lose internet access, then I can’t watch television?”
If you lose free over-the-air television then you lose access to the emergency broadcast announcements at the national, state, and local levels.
Now factor in US consumers’ degraded economic situation in the US since 2020! (Cumulative effects of inflation, and cumulative debt)
Combine those paragraphs with LG dropping ATSC 3.0 in their sets and getting the FCC to force the conversion to ATSC 3.0 is probably going to be impossible.