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Small Markets Await Satellite TV Salvation

TV stations in many smaller DMAs are anxious for Dish Network and DirecTV to add their signals to the satellite operators' lineups. And there is good news for the small-market broadcasters seeking the extra viewership (and possibly retransmission consent payments) that satellite service would bring: Congress may soon pass legislation that would more or less compel Dish to deliver local-into-local service to all 210 TV markets over a two-year period.
By
TVNewsCheck,

In 2007 when a devastating tornado ripped through the Jonesboro, Ark., region, some residents couldn't watch their local TV weather and get news on when to take cover.

That's because in Jonesboro (DMA 181) neither of the satellite TV operators, Dish Network and DirecTV, delivers local TV signals.

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"These are areas where [the satellite subscribers] don't get Amber alerts and severe weather information," says Tim Ingram, general manager of KAIT, the ABC affiliate.

Cable service is limited in the mostly rural Jonesboro area, forcing many TV viewers to depend on satellite, explains the Raycom broadcaster.

And receiving TV signals over-the-air is not always a viable option.

"In the rougher terrain and the far reaches of my viewing area you have people who are 60-plus miles from the station [and] if they are on the wrong side of the hill they have trouble picking us up over the air," explains Ingram. "I think some folks have failed to realize the ramifications of not having local into local [satellite TV service] in all the markets," he says.

KAIT's situation is certainly not unique. According to a review by TVNewsCheck, local TV signals are not available via neither Dish nor DirecTV in 23 of the 210 Nielsen DMAs and they are not available by one or the other in 37 markets. Dish is missing in 29; DirecTV in 54. All are in markets ranked 110 or lower.

(For a full accounting of where the local satellite signals are and aren't, see the chart at the bottom of this story.)

But there is good news for the small-market broadcasters seeking the extra viewership (and possibly retransmission consent payments) that satellite service would bring: Congress may soon pass legislation that would more or less compel Dish to deliver local-into-local service to all 210 TV markets over a two-year period.

"This would be absolutely huge for local broadcasters to have local TV signals on satellite in every market," says Dennis Wharton, an EVP with the National Association of Broadcasters.

"This is something NAB has been pushing for the last 15 years," he says. "It would be even better if DirecTV were doing the same thing; that way you get competition. You can leverage retransmission consent one off the other," he adds.

The legislation -- The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA) -- would renew the 1999 blanket copyright license granting satellite operators the ability to retransmit local broadcast signals and import distant network signals into areas where local signals can't be picked up off the air or so-called short markets that don't have affiliates of all Big Four networks.

Under provisions of the bill, Dish must make a good faith effort to offer local-into-local service in all 210 markets, but it also restores the satellite operators' ability to offer distant signals -- something it was banned from doing by a 2006 court order after it was found to have abused the restrictions.

In December, the House passed the measure, but the Senate has been dragging its feet. The latest word is that the Senate leadership may try to move the legislation by unanimous consent.

The prior copyright authorization law expired on Dec. 31, 2009. But, because of the delay with the new legislation, Congress extended its effectiveness through the end of this month.

There are skeptics who worry about any deal involving Dish because of its history of ignoring the distant signal restrictions.

"The problem is you're dealing with [Dish CEO] Charlie Ergen, who's proven repeatedly he can be less than reliable with his promises," says one broadcast industry source. "The old Ronald Regan adage applies in spades: trust but verify."

Although only DISH would have to deliver local-into-local service under the new law, DirecTV is also expected to expand its offerings.

"There's certainly incentive for us based on a competitive consideration," says DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer.

"We do plan to roll out additional local markets when our new satellite becomes operational in early second quarter of this year,'' he says, declining to offer any details.

Paul Sturlaugson, GM of KXGN Glendive, Mont., the nation's smallest TV market with just 3,940 TV homes, says he hears from viewers all the time who are eager to get the CBS affiliate on satellite.  

"I am excited to be able to tell them [viewers] that Dish is coming" says the Marks Broadcast Group manager. "I think it will be great."

Dish is not commenting on where or when it will roll out local-to-local in its remaining 29 DMA's.

However, there is some movement by Dish in certain markets.

In Bluefield-Beckley, W.Va. (DMA 156), Dish and DirecTV last summer put in a local receive facility (LRF) to gather and uplink local signals at West Virginia Media Holdings' WVNS.

But only DirecTV started offering service last November.

Continued on page 2…
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Comments (4) -

Andrew Wyatt posted over 2 years ago
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As a GM in one of the markets without DirecTV local-into-local I agree with all of the other GM's in this article. We're small market stations with a much smaller voice. In total our markets only add up to a fraction of the total US population, certainly not enough to lose a lot of elections for Senators. One point that was completely missed in the article was the lengths that satellite subscribers will go to acquire out of market signals when LIL is not offered. In our region there are four adjacent markets who's spot beams cover a large portion of our DMA. This means that subscribers who lie about their service address are given the affiliates from a different market. Since it is the subscriber who is providing the zip code information, DirecTV claims they have no legal right to protect our station. We have found on numerous occasions that installers and dishonest dealers have coached customers on how to do this. A $20 bill for a near minimum wage installer also goes a long way toward picking up the adjacent market channels. The information on "Moving" is easily found on the internet also. On a visit to look at Nielsen diaries I found that 50% of the DirecTV homes were getting their CBS from an out of market affiliate. None of those homes should have been allowed to do so legally. It amazes me that in a market with under 120,000 households, our station receives as many as 800 waiver requests per month. On many occasions the angry viewer who doesn't want a TV antenna on his house will tell me he knows how to get the out of town stations and he plans on doing it. In 1999 there was 63% cable penetration and satellite wasn't measured, 6a-2a the NBC had a weekly circulation of 64% and CBS 58%. In 2004 there was 54% cable and 24% ADS, 6a-2a the NBC had a weekly circulation of 54% and CBS 45%. In 2004 there was a 43% cable and 41% ADS, 6a-2a the NBC had a weekly circulation of 39% and CBS 37%. I'd like to see measures put in place that force DirecTV and Dish to cooperate with us in identifying the illegal homes. That would lead to an exodus of customers to Dish and Cable and create real competition and there would be LIL for DirecTV in our market in a matter of months.
Batman Nickname posted over 2 years ago
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Maybe after someone dies from the lack of a sever weather warning, the satellites and the FCC will open up their eyes to this travesty!
OTAexpert Nickname posted over 2 years ago
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The satellite companies should be required to install over the air antennas in locations where there is no Local into Local service.
Nathan Kayle posted over 2 years ago
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When I was growing up in the 1950s-'60s nearly every house had a roof-top TV antenna. Now a days hardly any do- and people complain they can't get good TV reception. I wonder why.

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