Tauzin Readying DTV Legislation
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 7/16/2002 6:04:00 AM
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is planning to introduce legislation in September that will address a range of digital-TV-transition issues -- including cable carriage of local broadcasters -- if the industries fail to craft a plan on their own.
Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson said many digital-TV-transition issues remain 'stuck in the mud' and require legislation in the absence of a broad industry accord.
He added that Tauzin was planning to offer a 'bipartisan, omnibus digital-television bill' that would address cable carriage of digital-broadcast signals, cable compatibility with digital-TV sets, inclusion of off-air digital-TV tuners in digital-TV sets, copyright protection of digital content and TV-station pass-through of network-generated high-definition programming.
'It will be a comprehensive bill,' Johnson said. 'Some of these issues can be peeled off if they are resolved before September.'
Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell proposed a voluntary digital-TV transition plan in April that called on the cable, broadcasting, satellite and consumer-electronics industries to take steps to spark the transition.
Last Friday, Powell issued a statement expressing disappointment that the consumer-electronics industry declined to embrace his call for the inclusion of off-air digital-TV tuners in nearly all new TV sets by Dec. 31, 2006.
Powell's plan did not address the copy-protection and cable/digital-TV-set compatibility issues. Tauzin urged the industries to adopt a policy by Monday on the protection of digital-broadcast programming, but no agreement was announced.
'We are near the edge of an agreement . and we are anxious to avoid further delay,' Motion Picture Association of America president Jack Valenti said.
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