House Communications Subcommittee Slates Another STELA Hearing

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced it will hold a second hearing on the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA).

The June 12 hearing is entitled "The Satellite Television Law: Repeal, Reauthorize, or Revise?"

Congress has until the end of 2014 to decide which of those three options to choose -- unless it extends the decision as it did last time around.

STELA authorizes the compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant TV station signals without having to negotiate independently with programmers for the rights to that content.

The Feb. 13 STELA hearing was a broad overview. The committee says this one will focus on whether the law, which was adopted in 1988 and will sunset every five years unless renewed, is still needed or is "out of step" with the digital video marketplace of today.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.