Coalition Urges SHVIA Re-Authorization

A diverse group of organizations that all benefit from the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA) jointly signed a letter urging all 100 U.S. senators to pass a House- approved version of the re-authorization bill, H.R. 4518, opposed by EchoStar Communications [DISH]. The National Association of Broadcast-ers (NAB), Motion Picture Assoc-iation of America (MPAA), National Cable and Telecommun-ications Association (NCTA), DirecTV [DTV], the National Religious Broadcast-ers Association and all the major U.S. sports leagues sent the letter late last week seeking support for a bill to extend SHVIA for another five years. The current SHVIA legislation expires Dec. 31.

“We represent a wide range of constituents, each of which has its own views about the various satellite television bills that have been pending before Congress this year,” according to the letter. “In many cases, our organizations are on opposite sides of many of these issues.”

However, an extension would continue an existing statutory license that allows satellite carriers to retransmit the signals of distant network stations and superstations beyond year-end.

(Dennis Wharton, at 202/429-5350)