WASHINGTON – The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), will hold a hearing in September on the legal regimes that regulate the delivery of video content to consumers. Increased competition and evolving technology has made for a more robust video marketplace but current laws and regulations vary depending on the technology used for delivery.
“Whether over the air from local broadcasters, through a paid subscription to a satellite, cable, or fiber provider, or streaming over the Internet, consumers have unprecedented access to view quality video content,” Walden said. “Each of these technologies faces a different regime of laws and regulations that have been developed over the last four decades. The subcommittee will examine whether these laws are still serving the needs of consumers, content creators, broadcasters, and video distributors in the modern communications marketplace.”
The hearing is an extension of the ongoing work of the subcommittee to examine the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, portions of which are set to sunset on Dec. 31, 2014. Previously the subcommittee has examined whether STELA still serves an important function or if it is out of step with today’s video marketplace and are discussing whether Congress should reauthorize the law as is, allow it to lapse, or revise it.
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