Martin Might Be Shifting On DBS Must Carry
FCC Chairman May Shift Policy Toward Satellite Carriers
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 2/12/2008 4:34:00 AM
Washington – Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin might be retreating from his plan dealing with the carriage of local TV signals by satellite carriers DirecTV and Dish Network in early 2009 after the digital TV transition.
Martin’s new approach was contained in prepared House testimony he is planning to deliver Wednesday before the Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. A copy of Martin’s testimony was obtained by Multichannel News on Tuesday.
Last Friday, Martin described his plan as a strict non-discrimination rule, which would ban DirecTV and EchoStar from carrying some local TV stations in high-definition but not others in HD.
The two satellite giants could depart from this standard, he said, but only with an FCC waiver based upon a showing of limited channel capacity. Martin's rule would take effect after the national shut off of analog TV signals on Feb. 17, 2009.
In his House testimony, Martin made no mention of his HD-parity proposal. Instead, he simply referred to a straightforward carry one, can all regime for digital signals, just like the one that exists for analog signals today.
The FCC is expected to vote on Martin’s DBS carriage rule on Feb. 26.
“Currently, the law requires that when a satellite operator chooses to carry any local broadcast signals, it must carry all full power local broadcast signals in that market. The pending item clarifies that, in such a `local-into local’ market, where a full power television station is broadcasting only in digital, it is the digital signal that the satellite operator carries. This clarification is critical to ensuring that satellite customers, like cable customers, will continue to receive the same broadcast stations they saw the day before the transition on the day after
the transition,” Martin’s prepared remarks said.
Martin's testimony suggested that DBS didn’t have to deliver any local signal in HD and he appeared to leave the door wide open for downconversion of some HD signals to standard definition.
Last week, Martin described his proposal differently.
“What we said is that you have to carry them in a nondiscriminatory way, but if you are under capacity constraints, then you can come back to the commission and explain why you can’t carry them all in high definition, for example, or you can carry them in standard definition but only some in high definition because you still don’t have enough capacity,” Martin told reporters.
An FCC rule mandating satellite HD parity for local TV stations would result in duplicative carriage burdens. DirecTV, for example, would not be able to carry a local TV signal only in HD because the signal wouldn’t be viewable in homes that didn’t have HD set-top boxes. DirecTV would need to carry the signal both in HD and standard definition.
Unlike cable operators, DirecTV and Dish Network have the option of not carrying local TV signals at all. DirecTV is developing a set-top box that can terrestrially receive DTV signals.
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DirecTV already has an STB that exclusively receives OTA signals. It's in response to many complaints that its new HR21, unlike its HR20 predecessor, does not included an OTA tuner. Supposedly, if the sub wishes to receive OTA signals it can "lease" the STB from DirecTV for a $50 upfront charge.
Jay Cable - 2/13/2008 7:24:00 PM EST -
And what about DirecTV or DISH customers who cannot pick up terrestial
DTV signals?
Shouldn''t they get all of the digital signals that are being delivered
locally?
Seems to me like claiming not enough bandwidth is a cop-out. If the
satcasters want local TV, they should have to carry all local TV, and not
just the signals they want to cherry pick.
John McNary - 2/13/2008 12:36:00 PM EST
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