A top government-waste watchdog group is urging the Senate to pass a simple extension of the Satellite Television Reauthorization Act of 2019 (STELAR) – which if ignored could lead to untold costs to service providers and the loss of national broadcast TV programming to hundreds of thousands of consumers.
“[This] would protect the more than 870,000 satellite TV subscribers who are at risk of losing access to broadcast content vital to their communities from major broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox through distant signal licenses,” said Thomas Schatz, president of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.
At issue is the passage Wednesday in the House of H.R. 5140, backed by powerful Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY).
Schatz says the Nadler bill fails to build on the original intent of STELAR to serve otherwise unserved customers and instead attempts to improve local service to viewers, which could have the opposite effect.
The bill would allow the so-called “distant signal license” to expire after just six months in certain markets, based solely on the company providing services.
“That could result in a mass blackout of national broadcast TV programming for consumers in rural areas,’’ Schatz said in his letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other ranking members.
Those consumers now rely on satellite “because they have been left behind like those in short markets, in which broadcasters do not provide local network programming, and in areas where broadcasters have failed to provide an over-the-air signal,” he said.
“Consumers in these markets will either have to go without certain broadcast network television, or seek programing from DISH, the only provider that H.R. 5140 would currently permit to serve satellite customers using distant signals.’’
It would make permanent a requirement for over-the-air TV outlets and pay-TV providers to bargain in good faith for access to a local broadcaster’s signal.
Those companies that would likely be affected with dramatically higher costs include Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc., DirecTV and DISH Network.
Critics of the Nadler bill point out these costs to operators will simply be passed on to consumers in their monthly cable bill.
The House vote was a bipartisan deal between Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., chair of the panel’s Communications and Technology Subcommittee.
“I’m very pleased that the House approved this important consumer protection bill today with bipartisan support,” said Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said following the passage.
“It took a lot of negotiation with the different stakeholder groups over a number of weeks to hammer out all the provisions in this legislation, but it was worth it. The Television Viewer Protection Act will benefit millions of Americans who subscribe to cable or satellite TV service. This bill is a big win for consumers.”
Schatz said the reauthorization of STELAR should be “an opportunity for Congress to take a fresh look at the video marketplace and strengthen current consumer protections.
“However, with time running out [the simple extension] provides the best path forward to protect consumers in the near term, while allowing time for more meaningful video marketplace reforms before the next expiration date.”
Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge, a communications policy non-profit, said:
“We are pleased Congressman Doyle has introduced legislation to reauthorize provisions that, when adequately enforced, ensure video providers and broadcasters negotiate in good faith to reduce blackouts and keep prices down for consumers.
“That being said, provisions of the law that allow consumers to access this essential content after the ball drops on New Year’s Eve must still be extended. Unless the distant signal license is also reauthorized, hundreds of thousands of consumers could lose the ability to enjoy broadcast network content — including news, sports, and entertainment — come New Year’s Day.”
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