Organizations Take Aim at Digital White Areas, DISH

[Gregg Lengling]

The National Association of Broadcasters and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association sent a letter to senators Friday blasting a proposal that would allow satellite TV companies to deliver distant digital network feeds to consumers who cannot receive a local digital broadcast signal.

In response, EchoStar said any move to scrap the provision would impact a large group of consumers who cannot get a digital signal from a local broadcaster.

The two organizations said in their joint letter the proposal is "a government giveaway to a single company - EchoStar - and will harm localism and competition, two paramount government policies." The provision is contained in Senate legislation aimed at the satellite TV business.

The digital white area provision would expand satellite TV's compulsory copyright license to allow DBS operators to deliver digital signals of out-of-market stations instead of local digital signals, if those signals are not available in a local area. The solution, the organizations said, will "siphon viewership away from local broadcast stations" and "constitutes a direct assault on America's system of free, over-the-air local television.

"It also will distort the competitive marketplace by allowing EchoStar to carry distant digital signals free of the regulatory requirements - including retransmission consent and non-duplication rules - that apply to cable systems which serve the very same markets," the letter added.

The associations also said EchoStar "has not stepped up to the plate and committed resources to provide consumers with access to local digital broadcast signals." They pointed to efforts by competitors, such as cable's move to carry local digital broadcast signals and DirecTV's plans to launch satellites that will provide more than 500 local digital broadcast stations next year and more than 1,500 digital stations by 2007.

EchoStar released a statement Friday afternoon that said the NAB/NCTA push to stop the legislative provision would prevent consumers, especially in rural areas, from receiving network digital TV, "which the broadcasters promised to provide at full power by 2002," the company said.

"There are tens of millions of homes across the country that cannot receive the digital, high definition television signal from one or more network affiliated stations within their home market. In that case, either the stations are not broadcasting a digital signal, or broadcasting one at low power reaching only a fraction of the homes in their market."

EchoStar also said broadcasters have refused to invest in technology that would provide digital service, "instead spending money to fight against legislation that would allow other providers to deliver this service."

The company added, "EchoStar made the necessary investments long ago, and we currently have the capability to deliver the networks' high definition programming everywhere across the nation via satellite. We should be allowed to accelerate adoption of digital technology through use of satellite, making high definition TV available to the American public."

[tazman]

It is your choice Gregg whether it is appropriate to post this.

Last week my parents just had DISH network installed with the HD package.  They live north of Madison.  My Dad had stated to me that subscribers were being asked to sign some petition regarding local channels.  I didn't quite understand what he was talking about untill after reading this thread.  This must be what he was telling me about?:confused: