Satellite owners unite on this bill!!!!!!!

[n1wbd]

Does anyone have a bill number of this legislation??? I want call my Rep. and get him to support it. Also don't forget about Senate Bill S 258 which was to clarify the SV rules. Especially for us viewers in NH that had WMUR then DISH took it away.

Bob N1WBD

Whatever brand of Satellite system you have, let me encourage you to begin contacting your federal legislator about this bill. It was introduced today by my U.S. Representative:

Today's THV - KTHV Little Rock News Article

 

[jerseyfla]

RSN's are in a different situation..The RSN's do not determine team territories, the teams and/or leagues do that. One may get RSN's from other markets but that doesn't mean the elimination of blackouts..
I think as pay TV subs we should have the right to receive any programming we wish as long as we are willing to pay for it.
I believe these DMA and sports blackout rules are archaic.

Very true, because I claim my last duty station in New Jersey as my service address with dishnet during football season and even though McGuire Air Force Base is in the Philadelphia DMA, The Knicks, Devils, Rangers, and Islanders all claim Burlington County as their territory so those games are not blacked out on my dish. I don't know if it's the NHL or FSN NY and MSG claiming Burlington County because I can see the Devils since they're the state's team but the Knicks, Rangers, and Islanders really don't have a fan base there or it could be the New York RSNs taking advantage of Comcast SportsNet Philly not being on satellite in these areas.

My friends in Mercer County just north of the base get every sporting event even the Mets and Yankees on their RSNs blackout free. However Dish and Directv follow MLB's rules for this and blackout the Mets and Yankees games except for OTA games.

 

[Hogwild]

Does anyone have a bill number of this legislation??? I want call my Rep. and get him to support it. Also don't forget about Senate Bill S 258 which was to clarify the SV rules. Especially for us viewers in NH that had WMUR then DISH took it away.

Bob N1WBD

Here's a link with details on the bill. If you have a U.S. Representative who serves on one of these committees who will be hearing this proposal, please contact them and tell them to support it:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h2821:

 

[Hogwild]

If the link I posted above doesn't work, try this one and go to the left side of the screen where it says "Primary Sources". Click on that link and it should provide the information.


H.R. 2821: To amend section 122 of title 17, United States Code, and the Communications Act of... (GovTrack.us)

 

[Stargazer]

In my opinion, and I am sure many will agree with me, that we should have the right to get all of our surrounding DMA's bordering the DMA that you are in. There are some cases where some are closer to the city of a neighboring DMA than their own.

 

[jhamps10]

ok after some reading of the bill's text, and reading off of DBS talk in their SHIVA forum, here is my .02 on this bill.


1. It will help a LOT of folks who are on the edge of two, or three markets. Case in point here regarding my home town. I am on the far edge of the STL DMA. 5 miles to my south, I'm in Evansville, IN DMA, 15 miles to the East, Terre Haute, IN DMA, 20 miles north I'm in the Springfield/Decatur/Champaign DMA. 20 miles SW I'm in the Paducah/Cape Girardeau/Harrisburg DMA. under this bill if it passes, Dish network and Directv would have the right to give me ALL 4 DMA's PLUS the St Louis DMA.

one problem, it's like the SV deal, if your local market doesn't give ya locals then you don't get any help in this.

However there are some problems with this bill. it will effect the other markets ONLY if the DMA of that station goes into your state. Prime example of this problem would be the Chicago DMA. It goes into Indiana and touches the Indianapolis DMA. However it does not go into Wisconsin at all. So if your in Kenosha or Racine and want Chicago news, then your still stuck with OTA or cable. but if your in Bloomington, IN some 75 miles SW of indy, you can get the local feed of WGN!

here is the link to the thread on DBStalk, which has links to the full text of the bill:

H.R. 2821 Adjacent markets considered local - DBSTalk.Com


Folks it is H.R. 2821. We NEED this bill to pass, it looks to be a good bill that will help a lot of folks out, call your Reps and tell them to support this. send them letters and e-mails too.

 

[waltinvt]

Now I wonder if this were actually to come to pass and the legal definition for border DMAs becomes "adjacent", then would a new license need to be created?

If they're not legally considered "distants", I wonder if Dish would be as entitled as any other carrier to provide them? (Ok Greg, what's your take?)

In any event there's not a snow ball's chance in hell of this getting past lobbyist payoffs.

 

[dishcomm]

ok after some reading of the bill's text, and reading off of DBS talk in their SHIVA forum, here is my .02 on this bill.


1. It will help a LOT of folks who are on the edge of two, or three markets. Case in point here regarding my home town. I am on the far edge of the STL DMA. 5 miles to my south, I'm in Evansville, IN DMA, 15 miles to the East, Terre Haute, IN DMA, 20 miles north I'm in the Springfield/Decatur/Champaign DMA. 20 miles SW I'm in the Paducah/Cape Girardeau/Harrisburg DMA. under this bill if it passes, Dish network and Directv would have the right to give me ALL 4 DMA's PLUS the St Louis DMA.

one problem, it's like the SV deal, if your local market doesn't give ya locals then you don't get any help in this.

However there are some problems with this bill. it will effect the other markets ONLY if the DMA of that station goes into your state. Prime example of this problem would be the Chicago DMA. It goes into Indiana and touches the Indianapolis DMA. However it does not go into Wisconsin at all. So if your in Kenosha or Racine and want Chicago news, then your still stuck with OTA or cable. but if your in Bloomington, IN some 75 miles SW of indy, you can get the local feed of WGN!

here is the link to the thread on DBStalk, which has links to the full text of the bill:

H.R. 2821 Adjacent markets considered local - DBSTalk.Com


Folks it is H.R. 2821. We NEED this bill to pass, it looks to be a good bill that will help a lot of folks out, call your Reps and tell them to support this. send them letters and e-mails too.

If the Bill passes and if I read the wording correctly, this would allow Sat co's to provide these signals..The question is will they?...then the TV station woukld have to agree to allow their signals to be broadcast outside their DMA...

 

[jhamps10]

If the Bill passes and if I read the wording correctly, this would allow Sat co's to provide these signals..The question is will they?...then the TV station woukld have to agree to allow their signals to be broadcast outside their DMA...

TV station would have no say from the wording I took as, that it would be totally up to Dish network/Directv to put them on. but I could be wrong on that of course.

yes and the big question is, would they???? Directv and slowly dish, at least until the injuction on Distant signals went into effect were giving folks the SV channels.

 

[dishcomm]

TV station would have no say from the wording I took as, that it would be totally up to Dish network/Directv to put them on. but I could be wrong on that of course.

yes and the big question is, would they???? Directv and slowly dish, at least until the injuction on Distant signals went into effect were giving folks the SV channels.

Here's the $64,000 question...Suppose the feds approve the availabilty of LIL from outside DMA...What purpose does it serve..With the exception of local news, and some sports programming and local stuff, the programming would be redundant. With sports, the issue of territorial restriction comes into play. In an earlier post I told of a sceaniro where a cust was having Dish installed. He was getting locals from two DMA's via cable. Geographically he was in a market where he should have been getting sports as an SC resident.Which he was.However, with the installation of Dish he was then getting Charlotte DMA stations and no longer would be seeing for example USC Gamecocks football...Now, suppose the DMA thing went thru and the staions were available. I believ that in the interest of protecting the local broadcasters ratings/viewer ship, the option of blacking out sports prgramming from outside one's own DMA would have to be an option.. For example, a viewer in NC would theoreticaly be able to wacth a Gamecocks football game an avoid a game he now gets uinder the current system. I would think that the local DMA shpuld have the right to keep the viewers they had before the new rules..If not they would lose viewers thay have now..I know this may seem complicated and I may not be explaining this very well. But rest assured, the local DMA will get concessions of some kind..We will see.

 

[waltinvt]

Well one major purpose would be the competition it would foster - especially for HD programming.

Say your own DMA locals are not getting a digital signal to your residence for whatever reason. Maybe they're not digital yet or choose to transmit low power or there are terrain problems or they've chosen to give exclusive HD rights to only certain providers? Some affiliates have an over-blown sense of their own worth and are playing real tough with negoiations too.

In any case. you're neighboring DMA (and in some cases, even closer)has all their digitals available to satellite. If satellite could be allowed to offer any sub their neighboring DMA's channels then you can bet their local afilliates would quickly find a way to get their own signals to you.

Obviously neighboring DMA channels are potentially more of a threat to a local station since the likelihood that the advertising is more appropriate to the viewer than if the competing stations were national distants.