The House of Representatives, by voice vote, sent the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 on its way to the Oval Office for a presidential autograph. The extension will be in effect until the end of 2014.
The bill will allow satellite MVPDs to continue bringing in distant broadcast signals as fill-ins when major networks are not otherwise available in a given market. In return, DISH Network will bring local-into-local broadcast television service to the remaining 29 DMAs where it has not yet provided it.
DISH welcomed the action in a statement, saying, “DISH Network congratulates Congress on passing the landmark Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA), clearing the way for DISH Network to become the first pay-TV provider to make local broadcast stations available in every television market in the United States.”
