AT&T Tells Congress It's Working to Aid Customers Affected by STELA
AT&T told members of Congress’ Commerce and Judiciary committees it’s working to address expected customer upheaval once the latest Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization law takes effect, including informing some DirecTV subscribers they will lose access to stations after May 31. STELA set that deadline for satellite providers using the distant-signal license to serve all 210 designated market areas (see 1912190068). Congress “can avoid having customers deal with these issues during” the COVID-19 pandemic “by delaying the new law’s June 1 effective date until January 1, 2021,” AT&T emailed to lawmakers. Public Knowledge and some others interpret the message as a bid to delay STELA’s start.
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“Next week we will begin notifying thousands of DIRECTV subscribers that ... they will lose access to network channels on June 1,” the email said. Affected customers include about 11,000 DirecTV subscribers in 12 markets where the company "does not offer local satellite channels. These subscribers will lose access to all their network programming.” Lawmakers repeatedly criticized AT&T during the STELA debate for not having offered local signals in those markets (see 1905310051).
“Unfortunately, this means disrupting these customers’ service and access to important news and entertainment during this time of emergency,” AT&T said. “Customers that may wish to change service providers will be forced to do so in the middle of this health pandemic, with many call centers understaffed and some providers limiting in-home installations.”
AT&T is “offering credits for the dropped channels and we are in discussions with the networks to keep these channels up,” it said. The major networks “publicly told Congress they would ensure a smooth transition for customers losing access to distant network signals,” AT&T said. “We have attempted to take up the networks on this commitment and will continue to negotiate with them to try to find a solution.” Those talks “have not yet resulted in definitive agreements and none of the networks have offered a solution that would preserve all subscribers’ current programming,” AT&T said. Nothing “prevents broadcasters from agreeing to authorize satellite providers to carry distant signals on a temporary basis,” the company said. “To date, they have been unwilling to do so."
AT&T is making “clear it has never intended to provide local TV station signals to those viewers receiving network broadcast programming from thousands of miles away,” an NAB spokesperson emailed. “This callous decision jeopardizes the safety of viewers in 'unserved' markets at a time when news and life-saving information from local sources are more important than ever."
PK believes Congress should extend the effective date for the new STELA law “until this pandemic has ended, rather than allowing it to expire next month,” said Senior Policy Counsel Jenna Leventoff. “As Americans continue to confront the dual public health and economic crises caused by COVID-19, they should not lose access to the broadcast stations they need. ... Nor should they be forced to sign up with a new pay TV provider in order to maintain their access to these channels, potentially putting both their families and cable TV installers at unnecessary risk.”