WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a largely anticipated move, provisions related to the soon-to-sunset Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization (STELAR) have been included in what’s formally titled the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020.
It passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon and now awaits Senate approval. That’s needed by Friday (12/20) to avoid a federal government shutdown, and once OK’d could eventually end AT&T-owned DirecTV‘s use of distant signals in the most remote parts of the U.S.
The move essentially combines legislation passed in the House that originated in the House Energy & Commerce Committee and, separately, in the House Judiciary Committee.
And, it is found on page 1,699 of a 1,773 word monster of a document covering legislation on a wide range of topics, including farm production and conservation programs, Department of the Interior matters, and veterans affairs needs.
A total of 15 pages to STELAR can be found, with the first bill noted the just-passed Television Viewer Protection Act of 2019.
As RBR+TVBR was first to report on Dec. 10, the TVPA passed via voice vote in a nearly empty session of the House of Representatives. The total time spent discussing H.R. 5035? Exactly two minutes and 20 seconds.
The act as introduced by House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Penna.) would have amended the Communications Act of 1934 by extending expiring provisions relating to the retransmission of broadcast TV station signals. As first written, H.R. 5035 would extend STELAR (getting the new nomenclature of “STAR” in the Senate) for a five-year period, through Jan. 1, 2025. But, this was deleted as part of the bipartisan compromise — a win for the NAB.
The biggest part of TVPA as finalized that is of relevance to the TV industry is a provision to make permanent “good faith” requirements in negotiations between pay TV companies and local TV stations for carriage of broadcast programming.
The TVPA also requires MVPDs, internet service providers, and telephone providers (both fixed and mobile) to include all charges in the prices they advertise and bill for services.
The matter of the importation of distant signals was left to Rep. Jerrold Nadler — the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee presently in the spotlight for impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
Nadler’s bill, the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019, immediately follows the TVPA in the appropriations legislation. This squarely involves the eligibility to receive signals under a distant-signal satellite license, with provisions including local-into-local and short market services outlined.
Nadler’s Act would establish Copyright Royalty Board royalty rates, which would be used for compensation of out-of-market signals in a short market.
The biggest piece of his legislation, however, is that it would permanently extend carriage of distant signal broadcast network TV programming to recreation vehicles (RVs), truckers and these local television “short markets” — but only on a guarantee from AT&T-owned DirecTV that it will begin providing local TV signals in 12 “neglected” TV markets within 120 days.
A May 30 deadline for local service in all DMAs, regardless of ZIP, would be put in place for DirecTV.
Appearing immediately after Nadler’s TV legislation?
The Secretary of Commerce shall forgive the interest accrued on the Groundfish Trawl fishery sub-loan regarding fishing capacity reduction in the West Coast groundfish fishery authorized by section 212 of division B, title II, of Public Law 108–7 from December 4, 2003, through September 8, 2005, and the portion of additional interest accrued in the Groundfish Trawl fishery sub-loan since September 8, 2005, that is directly attributable to the delay in implementing a repayment system.
It’s an eye-opening inside-the-Beltway example of how a bill becomes a law, this time one that has captured the attention of DirecTV subscribers, broadcast TV station owners and viewers in the smallest of DMAs.
The expiration of STELAR became the subject of increased debate in Washington and across the U.S., and AT&T wanted it continued. The NAB wanted it to end, thus forcing AT&T to bring the closest local channels to a host of tiny DMAs with no “local” network affiliates. Modern technology, the broadcast media industry lobbying organization notes, has made it feasible for DirecTV to bring these signals to areas that in the past could not obtain these closest-to-them stations.
As of now, DirecTV brings the most remote portions of these small DMAs national feeds, originating from New York for East Coast markets and from Los Angeles for West Coast markets. Robert Thun, the SVP/Content and Programming at AT&T and its DirecTV arm, told legislators at an Oct. 24 Senate hearing that it is the fault of broadcasters — not his company — that far-flung DirecTV subscribers in the smallest of DMAs cannot get a local broadcast affiliate of a Big Four network.
“I think there’s some conflation going on here that’s confusing people,” Thun said. “In the markets where we take an over-the-air signal … we are not using the distant signal in the middle of Helena, Montana. In the middle of Helena, Montana, the only vehicle for us to provide broadcast signals is through the antenna, which we provide to our customers for free and for which we provide a discount to our subscribers.”
He added that it is the outskirts of the DMAs where “the broadcasters fail to deliver a signal” is where these distant signals come in to play.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker honed in on that comment, and how panelist Emily Barr of Graham Media Network explained that a station can only serve a specific geographic region based on its signal contour.
How can this be resolved, in Thun’s view? “If they put repeaters in the outskirts of the areas, I guess … I’m not familiar with the technology of what MHz they are allowed to broadcast at, but I believe that there’s technologies to put repeaters on its outskirts of these DMAs in order to afford customers access to the signals.”
Is that expensive, Wicker wondered?
“I think they’ve got a windfall of money coming from the retrans fees that we pay, so they’ve got plenty of money to pay for it,” Thun remarked as those in the crowd laughed and gasped simultaneously at his comment.
Wicker looked on inquisitively. Barr held her own.
“We know that other companies … have technologically figured out a way to take our local signals and put them on our services, and AT&T could do this,” Barr said. “We know Dish is doing it … it is just a question of having the will to do it. I just don’t think, at this moment, that AT&T has the will to do that.”
The markets involved are as follows:
- Alpena, Michigan
- Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Casper-Riverton, Wyoming
- Cheyenne, Wyoming/Scottsbluff, Nebraska
- Grand Junction, Colorado
- Helena, Montana
- North Platte, Nebraska
- Ottumwa, Iowa/Kirksville, Missouri
- Presque Isle, Maine
- San Angelo, Texas
- Victoria, Texas
- Glendive, Montana
According to the NAB, DISH carries all the local TV stations in all 210 TV markets in America after a 2006 court case found the company was illegally importing distant network programming into households that should have been receiving their local broadcast stations. DirecTV, prior to AT&T ownership, promised in 2003 to carry all local TV stations in every DMA. That hasn’t happened.
Commenting on the inclusion of the TVPA and of Nadler’s bill in the 2020 appropriations legislation, NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith said his organization “strongly supports key pro-consumer provisions in the appropriations bill that address the expiring STELAR bill.”
It’s his belief that under this legislation, “AT&T-DirecTV will be encouraged to finally serve all satellite TV subscribers with their local TV stations. The bill also ends the five-year renewal cycle of satellite TV legislation that has incentivized pay TV companies to deny carriage of broadcast TV stations during retransmission consent negotiations … We are grateful to the many Members of Congress who have voiced their concerns with STELAR and made permanent these legislative reforms.”
