DirecTV to Hill: STELA Bill Draft Is Step in Right Direction

DirecTV says it likes the way the House Communications Subcommittee draft of the Satellite Television Extension and Loclism Act (STELA) is shaping up. That is according to the prepared testimony of DirecTV executive VP Mike Palkovic for the March 12 STELA hearing.

Palkovic makes the point that given the bill is mostly about reauthorizing satellite operators' blanket license to import distant signals, the fact that it at least does that, and for another full five-year hitch, is important.

"More than 1.5 million subscribers, many in the most rural areas of the country, receive at least one distant network signal from DirecTV or Dish," he says. "I think we can all agree that these subscribers have as much right to receive network television as those in big cities. But only STELA permits them to receive that programming. In many cases, only STELA permits them to receive network television at all."

[March 11]