EchoStar Networks May Be Saved By Senate
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is leading a bipartisan effort to protect home satellite television customers in Vermont and across the country from losing access to some of the most popular television networks.
Leahy, the ranking Democratic member of the Judiciary Committee – and the panel’s incoming chairman for the 110th Congress – Thursday introduced the Satellite Consumer Protection Act, joined by Senators Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), Jay Rockefeller (D-W.V.), Robert Byrd (D-W.V.), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), Mark Pryor (D-Minn.) and Michael Enzi (R- Nev.).
Leahy over the last decade has co-authored two laws that have expanded home satellite service to millions of viewers in Vermont and nationwide. One of the earlier Leahy initiatives has fostered local-into-local satellite service, enabling Vermonters and others to receive local channels in their home satellite program packages.
Leahy’s new bill would preserve satellite television service for roughly 800,000 EchoStar consumers around the country, and in Vermont, who are expected to lose it December 1 as a result of a federal court injunction. EchoStar is expected to suspend service to these consumers following a ruling that it violated federal law by providing distant signals to areas that did not need satellite to receive that programming.
The bill strikes a balance between consumer protection and tough enforcement against EchoStar for violating the law. The legislation requires EchoStar to deposit $20 million to be used to cover any future violations.
“This is a reasonable solution that penalizes Echostar for violating the law, while protecting the people who are the real victims of this serious problem: the consumers who are paying for these services,” said Leahy.
The bipartisan bill provides a targeted solution by permitting the service to continue under specific criteria, including:
Where local stations are not available from a satellite provider, EchoStar could bring in a distant network station if it compensates the local station.
In areas that do not have affiliates of all four networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), EchoStar could bring in a distant signal of the missing network affiliate because no local station would be harmed.
Stations from neighboring that are considered “significantly viewed” by the Federal Communications Commission, and generally treated as local stations, could be carried, such as the Albany, N.Y., stations which serve Vermont’s Bennington County and the Boston-area stations, which serve Windham County.
Here is the statement of Senator Patrick Leahy on introduction of the Satellite Consumer Protection Act:
Today I am pleased to introduce the Satellite Consumer Protection Act of 2006, and I am proud that Senators Inouye, Snowe, Allard, Rockefeller, Byrd, Salazar, Clinton, Pryor, Roberts and Enzi are among those joining me in sponsoring this important bill. I regret the necessity of this legislation, but I am determined to protect consumers – especially consumers in rural areas such as Vermont.
This is a pro-consumer, bipartisan bill that addresses a problem that soon will face millions of Americans who subscribe to satellite TV services. I realize full well that this bill may not please the major corporations affected by this remedy, but its intent is not to help them, but to help home satellite viewers.
A federal court recently found that EchoStar willfully, flagrantly and repeatedly violated federal law, and I believe that EchoStar should be held to account for its decade of illegal activity. The situation is ultimately quite complicated, but the simplest version is this: EchoStar has been bringing distant network signals to areas that did not need satellite to provide access to that programming. But the penalty for such actions is harsh, and the court that heard the lawsuit had no choice: EchoStar will be required to stop retransmitting any distant signals. EchoStar flouted the law, but it is consumers who will suffer. Unless we pass this bill, many rural subscribers around the country will lose access to news and entertainment programming from the free, over-the-air broadcast networks.
The Satellite Consumer Protection Act is a practical, narrow, and -- most importantly -- pro-consumer solution to a problem of EchoStar’s creation. The court-issued injunction, set to take effect December 1, will prohibit EchoStar from providing any distant network stations to any of its customers. Under the Satellite Consumer Protection Act, the injunction will apply to the roughly 95 percent of the country where EchoStar provides residents their local, over-the-air stations. Our legislation would only permit EchoStar to bring in distant network stations in three situations.
First, where local stations are not available from a satellite provider, EchoStar could bring in a distant network station if it compensates the local station. Second, in areas that do not have affiliates of all four networks, EchoStar could bring in a distant signal of the missing network affiliate because no local station would be harmed. Third, stations from neighboring localities that are considered “significantly viewed” by the Federal Communications Commission, and are generally treated as local stations, could be carried.
This legislation would not be complete without an enforcement provision that will truly curb EchoStar’s practice of illegally providing copyrighted content. The Satellite Consumer Protection Act therefore imposes real monetary penalties for violating the Act and requires EchoStar to put sufficient funds in escrow with the copyright office to cover any future violations.
This bipartisan bill respects the legitimate interests of broadcasters who have been harmed by EchoStar’s actions, while it serves the interests of the people who are the innocent bystanders and the real victims of this emerging problem: the consumers who are paying for these services.
