Chris Blount
12-08-04, 06:03 AM
Legislation containing a critical satellite TV measure has worked its way through Capitol Hill and to the desk of President Bush.
The House voted unanimously late Monday night to scrap from a must-pass budget bill a controversial provision that would've allowed Congressional appropriations committees to examine individual tax returns. That cleared the way for the huge $388 billion appropriations bill containing, among several other items, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004. The Senate has signed off on the measure.
The bill was expected to be sent to Bush as early as Tuesday, said sources as of press time late last night. The president is expected to sign the measure into law.
As part of the bill, satellite TV would have 18 months to phase out a two-dish solution for reception of a certain set of locals, an item that targets EchoStar and its use of two dishes for receiving a select set of local TV channels for a number of markets.
In addition, the legislation includes a provision allowing satellite TV to deliver "significantly viewed" stations to consumers who live outside the station's home market. There's also royalty rate language that allows the parties involved to negotiate their business arrangements rather than going through a CARP process. And the bill extends for five years the compulsory license that allows DBS services to provide superstations and distant network signals.
The bill also allows for the creation of a "digital white area," which will allow satellite TV companies to deliver distant broadcast digital and high-def signals to consumers who cannot receive a local digital TV signal.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
The House voted unanimously late Monday night to scrap from a must-pass budget bill a controversial provision that would've allowed Congressional appropriations committees to examine individual tax returns. That cleared the way for the huge $388 billion appropriations bill containing, among several other items, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004. The Senate has signed off on the measure.
The bill was expected to be sent to Bush as early as Tuesday, said sources as of press time late last night. The president is expected to sign the measure into law.
As part of the bill, satellite TV would have 18 months to phase out a two-dish solution for reception of a certain set of locals, an item that targets EchoStar and its use of two dishes for receiving a select set of local TV channels for a number of markets.
In addition, the legislation includes a provision allowing satellite TV to deliver "significantly viewed" stations to consumers who live outside the station's home market. There's also royalty rate language that allows the parties involved to negotiate their business arrangements rather than going through a CARP process. And the bill extends for five years the compulsory license that allows DBS services to provide superstations and distant network signals.
The bill also allows for the creation of a "digital white area," which will allow satellite TV companies to deliver distant broadcast digital and high-def signals to consumers who cannot receive a local digital TV signal.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)