Satellite : Broadcast Bill Feeds Retrans Speculation

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Satellite Broadcast Bill Feeds Retrans Speculation
The House Subcommittee on Communications had a busy, DBS heavy day on Tuesday, with Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) kicking off the hearing on the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act by reiterating the fact that he doesn't want the satellite broadcast distribution legislation "sidetracked" by issues like retrans consent reform.

(Don't count on that happening, by the way, because the subcommittee docket is set to include testimony from all sorts of cable and broadcast industry folks addressing issues ranging from retrans to DMAs.)

The satellite broadcast bill addresses an agreement that is set to expire at the end of the year, but many analysts expect this week's hearings to become a litmus test for potential retrans reform. At Tuesday's session, in fact, DISH Network head Charlie Ergen addressed the issue of retrans consent directly, saying that it should be free or set at a national rate (DIRECTV's Bob Gabrielli, senior vice president of broadcasting operations and distribution, agreed).

Ken Ferree, former FCC official and president of "market oriented think tank" The Progress and Freedom Foundation, testified that Congress should take the competitive market for all video delivery services into account when considering rules for DBS providers, arguing that lawmakers need to "refrain from imposing enhanced carriage mandates on satellite video distributors."