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To: art slott who wrote (7576)	11/6/1999 12:02:00 PM
From: art slott	Respond to of 13157

Clinton Administration Blasts Satellite TV Bill Updated 2:51 PM ET November 5, 1999 Current quotes (delayed 20 mins.) DISH 70 1/16 1 1/16 (1.54%) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House has major problems with almost-completed legislation in Congress to allow satellite television services to carry local TV programming, according to a letter released Friday by the Clinton administration. In a letter to lawmakers, Commerce Secretary William Daley said parts of the proposal could raise prices for consumers and make it more difficult for satellite TV firms like EchoStar Communications Corp. and Hughes Electronics Corp.'s DirecTV to compete with land-based cable services. Instead of helping satellite firms compete, some parts of the bill "appear to create economic and regulatory disincentives for providing local-into-local carriage of broadcast signals, to limit consumer programming choices, to permit discriminatory conduct and to increase the potential cost of satellite programming," Daley wrote. But leading Republicans said the administration's complaints are too late to influence the shape of the bill. "All the White House has to do is veto the bill and we'll just forward all the phone calls from thousands of irate consumers to them over the holidays," said a spokesman for Louisiana Republican Billy Tauzin, a leading participant in the negotiations. Lawmakers are almost finished with their proposal to allow satellite firms for the first time to carry local TV stations for their subscribers in each local market. The bill was originally intended to bolster satellite TV as a competitor to cable monopolies, which recently saw federal regulations phased out and have raised prices at more than three times the rate of inflation over the past three years. But an intense lobbying campaign by television broadcasters convinced lawmakers to add a number of limitations on satellite TV firms carrying local channels. For example, the proposal would allow TV stations to charge satellite firms more than they charge cable companies for carrying their programming. The plan also would require satellite firms to supply free over-the-air TV antennas to hundreds of thousands of customers who had programming from major television networks cut off under a court order. Even if the bill became law, satellite firms would require several years to phase in local coverage. And because the bill would require that a satellite service carry all stations in each local market if it carried even one station, the companies have said they have only enough channel capacity to serve the largest 50 to 70 U.S. cities. Daley's letter called the free antenna provision an "unreasonable and unjustified burden." Heavy Microsoft Trading Ahead Of Antitrust News (Previous story) Yankee Group Names New CEO (Next story) Archive: Sat Nov 6 Fri 5 Thu 4 Wed 3 Tue 2 Mon 1 Sun Oct 31 Reuters Technology News Silicon Valley Cheers Microsoft Ruling Microsoft Vows To Keep Fighting Antitrust Case Intel Wins Appeal Of Injunction In Intergraph Case U.S. Officials Hail 'Victory' On Microsoft Court Finding Puts Pressure On Microsoft To Settle* Breakup Of Microsoft Not A Likely Outcome Motorola Sees Explosive Semiconductor Demand Ahead Server Appliance Maker Cobalt Rockets After IPO Qualcomm Stock Extends Gains After Bullish Comments Taiwan PC Makers Squeezed By Quake, Handset Demand November 5 Judge Rules Microsoft Wields Monopoly Power* Microsoft Off, ECNs Stay Open U.S. Judge Finds Microsoft Monopoly Power-Sources Nextel Sells $2.0 Billion In Junk Bonds Citigroup Boosts Computers To Nab Launderers Court Confirms Judge To Issue Key Microsoft Ruling * Story has photo ¸ 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without Reuters prior written consent. Printer-friendly format Send this story to a friend