HOUSE TELECOM SUBCOMMITTEE APPROVES SHVIA REAUTHORIZATION
The House Telecom Subcommittee approved legislation Wed. to reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA). The bill included a one-dish requirement for local analog broadcast stations; a restriction against DBS providers from offering grade B area subscribers both local-to-local and distance network signals; and a provision that will let DBS operators offer “significantly viewed” out-of-market broadcast stations. The subcommittee markup also showed that Rep. Deal (R- Ga.) will likely push in the full committee markup an amendment to require “a la carte” pricing by cable and satellite providers.
House Commerce Committee Chmn. Barton (R-Tex.) said he was “encouraged” by the bill’s passage. Members from both parties said the bill was a solid bi-partisan effort. But several members said “digital white areas,” where broadcasters’ DTV signals don’t reach customers, should be addressed. DBS operators want to be allowed to provide DTV signals to those not served by broadcasters. It appeared from comments during the markup that Deal’s efforts to apply a la carte pricing to cable would be the most controversial issue when the bill is brought before the full Committee. House Telecom Subcommittee Chmn. Upton (R-Mich.) said the full committee markup could occur within 2 weeks. A bill is also expected from the House Judiciary Committee, but no hearings or markups have been scheduled.
Provisions of the SHVIA Reauthorization bill included: (1) Extending retransmission consent until Dec. 31, 2009. (2) Allowing DBS operators to provide out-of-market broadcast stations the FCC deems “significantly viewed” as long as the subscriber is taking local-to-local service. (3) Requiring all local analog signals to be carried on one DBS dish. It can be a second dish. (4) Requiring termination of distant-signal service once a subscribe gets local-to-local. An amendment from Upton also affected grandfathering of “grade B donut” subscribers. With the amendment, grandfathered subscribers in grade B areas would have to choose between a distant signal or local-to-local.
Other provisions included: (5) A requirement that satellite operators notify distant-signal subscribers within 60 days once local-to-local is offered. DBS operators must also provide broadcasters a list of distant-signal subscribers. (6) A requirement that the FCC propose to Congress a model for determining who would be unserved by over-the-air digital Jan. 1, 2007, target date for the analog shut off. (7) A ban on the on- location signal strength test for customers who fall into the FCC’s predictive model. (8) An amendment from House Telecom Subcommittee ranking Democrat Markey (Mass.) that would apply to DBS privacy regulations similar to those applied to cable.
SBCA said it was unhappy with the bill. “This bill has a lot to offer the broadcasters but very little for consumers and the satellite industry,” said SBCA Pres. Richard DalBello. SBCA is unhappy with removal of the grandfather clause that lets some viewers receive distance network signals, DalBello said, and is “disappointed” the subcommittee didn’t endorse proposal to allow DBS to broadcast DTV to unserved areas.
The amendment Deal proposed, before eventually withdrawing, would give cable providers the opportunity to offer a la carte pricing and would prevent cable networks from tying their products together. Deal said a la carte pricing would allow parents to stem the tide of indecency and would help drop rising cable prices. Also, he said he could pursue the issue from an antitrust perspective, saying the Justice Dept. might need to investigate whether the tying of network channels together was an antitrust violation. Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, the Parents TV Council and Concerned Women for America said they support the a la carte proposal.
Rep. Rush (D-Ill.) said the Deal amendment would hurt “diversity of programming” and cause price increases. Deal said Canada had a similar a la carte pricing system that didn’t lead to price increases. Markey (D-Mass.) said he supported the bill because it didn’t require cable operators to institute a la carte, and only gave them the option to “experiment” with such services. Rep. Wynn (D-Md.) said that an a la carte system would marginalize niche programming because those networks could not generate enough advertising revenue to support themselves. He said family programming is a type of niche programming that would be jeopardized.
House Commerce Committee ranking Democrat Dingell (Mich.) said the subcommittee should hold hearings on cable competition and a la carte pricing before enacting the amendment. Markey said cable competition hearings were needed.