Satellite Draft Bodes Well For Broadcasters

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA) on Monday released a narrow discussion draft of a bill to reauthorize for five years provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Act set to expire Dec. 31. As written, the proposal leaves out language opposed by broadcasters that would allow satellite and cable providers to import signals of stations in adjacent markets. CBS, NBC and FOX have argued the change could be disadvantageous in retransmission consent programming negotiations. Another key section attempts to level the playing field between local stations and those deemed by the FCC to be "significantly viewed." The draft would update the statute to account for last week's nationwide shift to digital television and directs the FCC to update its predictive modeling methods for gauging how well certain locations receive satellite signals in an all-digital environment.