Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would think as soon as it computes an answer. Of course there is a penalty for getting an answer wrong, so it can't be pressing the button all the time. But the PBS documentary I think hinted that it will be a sent a signal to know what amount to wait before reading aloud an answer. That said, I wish the engineers would have implemented OCR technology into Watson so it could see the TV screen, decipher the text que…
I don't think that's relevant. No one expected Deep Blue to have a mechanical arm that reaches out and moves pieces around a physical chess board.
For IBM Watson playing Jeopardy against humans the buzzer reaction time is exceedingly important. The buzzer is an integral, possibly even central, part of the game.