Broadcasters Back Into Must Carry Suit

DAVID CONNELL

The fight over satellite TV must carry rules continues to widen as a group of broadcasters has decided to jump into the fray, and cable interests, including C-SPAN, consider filing on behalf of the satellite TV industry.

A coalition of broadcasters, led by the National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Local Television Stations, have filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to help fight the industry's efforts to have must-carry overturned.

Meanwhile, cable interests continue to debate the merits of getting in on the lawsuit, with some in the industry saying C-SPAN may be ready to file on behalf of the satellite TV industry.

The broadcasters said they want to add their names to the list of defendants in the case because "broadcast television stations would be severely harmed if plaintiffs were granted the relief they seek." They add that they should be allowed to intervene in the case because their interests will not be adequately represented by the government.

The crux of the broadcasters' argument against repealing the satellite TV must-carry rules centers on the fact that Congress wrote the must carry rules granting DBS companies a compulsory license for broadcast stations that are tied to carrying all stations in a market.

"Congress chose not to award satellite carriers royalty-free licenses to pick and choose among the signals of local television stations because it did not want to encourage satellite carriers to cherry-pick local stations," broadcasters say. "Congress chose instead to encourage satellite carriers to carry all local stations in each market because that choice would help preserve free television for those who could not afford satellite or cable services."

The broadcasters further note that overturning satellite TV must carry would shrink their potential audience and unfairly benefit networks carried by DBS companies over those left out of the programming packages.

"If subscribers receive hundreds of programming choices - including the programming of their local network broadcast stations - from their satellite carrier, few would undertake the effort and expense of installing an antenna or subscribing to cable to gain access to the remaining broadcast stations in their area," the broadcasters say. "Thus, satellite carriers effectively would remove their subscribers from the potential audience for broadcasters they choose not to carry."