Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Satellite Draft Bodes Well For B'Cast

As CongressDaily's AM Edition reports, House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., on Monday released a narrow discussion draft of a bill to reauthorize for five years provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Act set to expire Dec. 31. As written, the proposal leaves out language opposed by broadcasters that would allow satellite and cable providers to import signals of stations in adjacent markets. CBS, NBC and FOX have argued the change could be disadvantageous in retransmission consent programming negotiations.

Another key section attempts to level the playing field between local stations and those deemed by the FCC to be "significantly viewed." The draft would update the statute to account for last week's nationwide shift to digital television and directs the FCC to update its predictive modeling methods for gauging how well certain locations receive satellite signals in an all-digital environment. At a hearing on the topic Tuesday, Boucher's panel will hear from Walt Disney Executive Vice President Preston Padden, DirecTV Executive Vice President Derek Chang, Dish Network General Counsel R. Stanton Dodge and others.

Padden will urge the subcommittee to "avoid interference with workable marketplace relationships" that exist in great abundance today in the multi-channel video programming market, according to written testimony. He will also argue those who invest billions of dollars to produce content should have the ability to determine where and on what terms that content is licensed and distributed. In his testimony, Chang will urge members to modify the current regime "to give consumers the stations that truly serve their communities." He will also ask lawmakers to modify how consumers can qualify for distant signals, "to ease their burden when local signals are not available to them."

Look for more coverage in CongressDaily's PM Edition.