WHDT-DT APPEALS MEDIA BUREAU MUST-CARRY DECISION TO FULL FCC
High-definition station WHDT-DT (CH. 59), Stuart, Fla., appealed FCC Media Bureau decision that EchoStar wasn’t required to carry station in DTV format, licensee Guenter Marksteiner confirmed. Bureau said existing issues of DTV must-carry proceedings “must be decided before the digital signal carriage rights of TV stations, with regard to satellite carriers, can be enforced” (CD Jan 22 p5).
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Station filed application for review with Commission Wed., saying Bureau was “incorrect” as far as “notion that… [it] has no authority to act on Marksteiner’s complaint and thus Marksteiner’s complaint is premature.” It also questioned whether dismissal of complaint was violation of rights granted by Communications Act.
WHDT-DT argued that Sec. 338 of Communications Act made carriage of local stations in market mandatory for both cable and satellite carriers. “As the SHVIA legislative history plainly demonstrates, Congress was concerned that, absent must-carry obligations, satellite carriers would carry only the major network affiliates while excluding nonnetwork independents like Marksteiner,” station said Satellite carrier must prepare to carry all stations if it chooses to carry any, it said. Sec. 338 also says satellite carriage of broadcast stations should be considered equal to carriage by cable operators, “and comparable treatment is all that we're asking for,” WHDT-DT attorney Paul Feldman said.
“Overall, the bureau’s action and Commission’s action, or inaction, is inconsistent with rapid DTV transition,” Feldman said. Consumer access to DTV is critical to success of transition and same role should be played by DBS and cable carriers in process, station said. Station said Commission “must act to ensure the survival of actual DTV stations through enforcement of carriage requirements in a time frame rapid enough to make a difference.”
EchoStar spokesman said company had no comment. Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. Pres. Andrew Wright said satellite providers were leading way among multichannel video providers by offering more HDTV choices to public. “Satellite capacity is limited,” he said, “and in order to maximize the number of markets where service is available, DBS providers must be able to choose whether they can carry a station in high or standard definition. That’s our position as an industry.” Satellite Industry Assn. had no comment.
Meanwhile, Commission recently denied and dismissed 2 must-carry complaints against EchoStar by stations in Hawaii and Md., respectively. KWBN-TV (Ch. 44), Honolulu educational station, said that although EchoStar had sent notification of local service, notice wasn’t sent to local address, but to station programming supplier Daystar TV Network in Dallas. KWBN said it learned of new service on EchoStar’s Web site because company didn’t comply with Commission rules requiring “local” notification. EchoStar contended must-carry request wasn’t received from KWBN in timely manner and it had communicated with Daystar previously on must-carry elections for KWBN. Commission denied request on basis that EchoStar had notified station within 60-day requirement and that notification should have been sufficient based on previous successful communications.
Must-carry request by WJAL (Ch. 68, Ind.) Hagerstown, Md. was dismissed by Commission. Station had said EchoStar was obliged to make all local stations available via continental U.S. (CONUS) satellites, rather than so-called wing satellite. FCC said complaint was filed after FCC ordered EchoStar to establish nationwide compliance plan placing local stations on conus satellite, but before plan was in place. As such, FCC said, petition is actually petition for reconsideration of decision that EchoStar doesn’t have to begin conus carriage until plan is implemented, FCC said, and raises no new issues.