Speeches
|
|
Print this page |
Statement on the Satellite TV Conference Bill
November 8, 1999
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, today made the following statement on the satellite TV conference bill announced today:"The Senate Commerce Committee has worked for the enactment of procompetitive, proconsumer satellite TV reform legislation for over a year. Two of our main goals were to assure that satellite TV consumers would no longer be subject to sudden loss of retransmitted broadcast stations, and to enhance satellite TV's ability to compete effectively with cable TV and constrain cable TV rate increases.
"Therefore, after reviewing the product of the House-Senate Conference Committee, I have decided not to support satellite TV legislation because it fails to achieve either of our goals.
"Although the bill would give satellite TV companies a six-month grace period to negotiate for the rights to offer local network stations to their subscribers, other provisions in the bill make it virtually impossible for satellite carriers to actually begin carrying local stations unless they are willing to assume one of two unacceptable risks.
"The first risk is the possibility that satellite carriers will ultimately be forced to drop the local stations at the end of the six-month period if they cannot obtain reasonable retransmission consent terms from the big TV networks in the interim. This is clearly anticonsumer;
"The other risk is the possibility that, to avoid being forced to drop the local stations, satellite carriers will ultimately be forced to accept whatever retransmission consent terms the big TV networks choose to dictate. This is anticompetitive.
"It is truly unfortunate that we didn't work to help the consumer in the ways the original legislation passed by the House and Senate intended."
# # #
|