ABC, CBS, Fox Agree to Graham Proposal for Post-STELA Distant-Signal Transition
ABC, CBS and Fox agreed in recent days to a proposal by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to ensure satellite subscribers don’t lose access to distant signals if Congress allows the compulsory license language in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act to expire at year-end. Graham called earlier this month for the broadcasters to provide a one-year license to satellite companies to transmit stations' signals after the distant-signal rules expire and to agree to negotiate carriage agreements for a further one-year beginning in 2021 (see 1911010059). The networks wrote Graham in letters we obtained Friday.
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NBC is also expected to agree. The Comcast-owned network didn't comment Friday.
The broadcasters’ agreement to Graham's proposal happened amid Capitol Hill's ongoing debate over STELA recertification. Some stakeholders view Graham’s letter as a sign he opposes renewal of STELA’s distant-signal language. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., is moving forward with plans to mark up his Satellite Television Access Reauthorization Act (S-2789) to renew STELA through the end of 2024 (see 1911060043). Commerce’s markup begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday in G50 Dirksen.
CBS “is willing to provide the satellite providers a one-year license” at the start of STELA’s expiration that will allow retransmission of CBS-owned programming, said Executive Vice President-Global Government Affairs John Orlando. CBS has provided its affiliates program exclusivity guarantees in each of their markets, so the affiliates need to grant the network a “narrow waiver in order to permit this distribution during the transition period." CBS does "not anticipate this will be an issue," Orlando said.
ABC “shares your interest in ensuring that our viewers continue to have the ability to view” its network programming after a potential expiration of STELA’s distant-signal license rules, said Disney Senior Vice President-Government Relations Richard Bates. “ABC is prepared to ensure a smooth transition through short-term agreements with the satellite providers consistent with the approach” Graham outlined. “The time has come for the expiration” of the distant-signal license. DirecTV owner AT&T and Dish Network “must be willing participants,” Bates said.
Fox “is committed to ensuring our viewers have continued access to our network programming” and that distant-signal retransmission consent rates for satellite providers “will be comparable” to the Copyright Royalty Board’s 2018 rate “during the transition,” said Head-Government Relations Daniel O’Brien. STELA “is a relic of a bygone era when satellite dishes consumed entire backyards and technological limitations prevented carriage of local broadcast signals in all 210” media markets, he said. Advancements have eliminated “the need for this law’s continuation.”