DALLAS—The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization—better known as STELAR—is poised to expire at the end of the year and Congress is readying its final approval of the bill that will permanently let it expire, save in a few instances. AT&T’s Senior Executive Vice President of External & Legal Affairs Jim Cicconi expressed why he felt this was a mistake on AT&T’s blog.

Cicconi writes that the removal of STELAR will also remove access to broadcast channels for hundreds of thousands of consumers. “Make no mistake, when the screens of those consumers go dark, the sole reason will be that Congress did not act to protect them,” he wrote.

STELAR is the primary compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant network TV station signals to markets. Broadcasters have argued that the license is no longer relevant and have been pushing for it to expire at the end of its most recent five-year renewal cycle this year. Congress seems to have agreed. The House officially passed the appropriations bill that includes the sunsetting of STELAR, and the Senate is expected to do the same by Friday, Dec. 20.

In addition to the sunset of STELAR, the appropriations bill also makes permanent the requirement that retransmission disputes are conducted in “good faith” and it will maintain compulsory licenses for RVs, truckers and “short” markets, which are markets without one or more local network affiliates available.

However, Cicconi does not think these measures will prevent the loss of access to some channels for consumers, but instead there is a need for reform regarding the issue of retransmission fees.

Cicconi presents that retransmission fees for local broadcast stations have grown from $200 million in 2006 to $11.7 billion in 2019—an increase of 5,000%. He says that these increase in fees have trickled down to higher bills for consumers. Rather than address this, Cicconi writes that Congress has “bowed to further demands from broadcasters.”

“If the broadcasters truly want to debate, and to justify such predation based on the principle of free market economics, we are prepared,” writes Cicconi. “But all issues should be on the table. That includes the grant of free spectrum from the public given to local broadcasters for one purpose and now used for another. It should also include the grant of monopoly rights for local broadcasters in specific geographic areas—hardly consistent with any concept of a free market.”

Read the full version of Cicconi’s blog on AT&T’s website.

UPDATE: The NAB responded to Cicconi's blog post with a statement from Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president of communications:

“AT&T is being remarkably disingenuous in suggesting that broadcasters are responsible for rising pay-TV prices. Pay-TV prices have increased independent of programming costs for decades. Further, as the attached chart from S&P Global notes, cable network fees are the primary driver of high programming costs. AT&T's own CNN, TBS and TNT networks are among the cable networks charging the highest fees, despite rating that are paltry in comparison to eyeballs delivered by local TV stations.

“There is no reason for 'screens to g dark' as a result of the STELAR bill, as claimed by AT&T. Instead, AT&T's DirecTV has the opportunity as a result of STELAR to fulfill its decade-long pledge to deliver local TV to tens of thousands of viewers in 12 'unserved rural markets. We are hopeful that AT&T delivers on that promise and supports the wishes of Congress in delivering local television signals to rural viewers.”

WASHINGTON—Choosing to go with a slight rebranding, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has introduced a new bill that would serve as a renewal of the STELAR Act called the Satellite Television Access Reauthorization Act, or STAR Act.

The new bill is essentially the same as STELAR, providing a compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant network affiliated TV station signals to markets that lack them, with supporters of the act saying it will provide increased access to key content like news, sports and more at fair and competitive pricing. The STAR Act would extend the law from its current expiration date of 2019 to 2024, and continue the requirement that TV stations and MVPDs negotiate in good faith.

The STELAR reauthorization has been a contentious debate in recent months, with most broadcasters wanting the bill to expire while cable and satellite operators sought its renewal.

“We are glad that Sen. Wicker has introduced legislation that will prevent hundreds of thousands of Americans from watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve—and then suddenly losing access to the broadcast stations they rely upon for news, sports and entertainment once the clock strikes midnight,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at Public Knowledge.

“While we had advocated for a permanent reauthorization, Sen. Wicker’s proposed five-year reauthorization will protect consumers in the short term and ensure that this issue is revisited again. At that time, if not before, Congress should consider more fundamental changes to video marketplace rules to better align the interests of creators, distributors and viewers.”

The American Television Alliance echoed Public Knowledge’s support for the bill, with Trent Duffy, spokesman for ATVA, adding: “We urge the committee to not only renew the current law but to fix this broken system that has brought record blackouts and allowed broadcasters to raise fees paid by cable and satellite customers by more than 5,000%. Enough is enough.”

The bill is expected to be marked up next week.

WASHINGTON—STELAR went to Washington on Wednesday, and both sides of the debate regarding whether the STELAR should be reauthorized or allowed to sunset made their cases, as well as some introducing new proposals that would better serve customers.

STELAR, which was first introduced in 1988 to establish the compulsory license that allows satellite operators to import distant network TV station signals into local markets where viewers lack access, is approaching the end of its latest five-year renewal in 2019. Most cable operators want the law renewed, while broadcasters believe it is time for it to go away.

According coverage from TVT’s sister publication, Multichannel News, Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) made it clear that he sees STELAR as a critical law for preserving access to video services for rural residents, and even said that “the committee is preparing to reauthorize STELAR.” However, there were some on the committee, like ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who side with broadcasters and the amount of competition in the industry today makes STELAR unnecessary.

Another area that was discussed was about how STELAR could be used as a vehicle for reforms and just what some of those reforms could be. Things brought up by witnesses included having the current set-aside for noncommercial channels on satellite in the Telecommunications Act also include independent commercial channels; a True Fees Act that would offer transparency to all the fees customers are subject to from MVPDs; and the issue of stations on state borders not receiving signals from stations actually located in their state.

One piece of legislation not on the table, however, is the Local Choice Act that Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) previously introduced during the last renewal five years ago. The act would have required broadcasters to sell their signals directly to consumers, who could choose not to take them.

For more information on the STELAR hearing proceedings, read the full report on Multichannel News.

WASHINGTON—The Senate has officially set a time to examine whether or not STELAR should be reauthorized before it expires at the end of this year.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has set a hearing date for “The Reauthorization of STELAR” of Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. The hearing will be convened by Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the committee.

The hearing will look into the policy considerations for reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELAR) and how to ensure Americans living beyond the reach of a broadcast signal maintain access to local programming. Witnesses are also expected to discuss the effectiveness of STELAR’s good faith requirement and other targeted video marketplace reforms Congress should consider in the next STELAR reauthorization.

Witnesses expected to appear at the hearing, though subject to change, include Emily Barr, president and CEO of The Graham Media Group and chairwoman for NAB’s Television Board; Denny Law, CEO and general manager at Golden West Telecommunications; Robert Thun, senior vice president of content and programming at AT&T; and J.C. Watts, chairman and co-founder of The Black News Channel.

A live video stream of the hearing will be available on www.commerce.senate.gov.