FCC must-carry rules are filled with ‘legal and factual errors,’ ...
FCC must-carry rules are filled with “legal and factual errors,” EchoStar said in letter signed by Vp-Gen. Counsel David Moskowitz. EchoStar joined rival DirecTV and Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. in challenging constitutionality of must- carry rules in federal…
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lawsuit. Under FCC rules, DBS companies must carry all stations in each market they serve. Satellite companies say those rules eat up valuable capacity and constrain their business. Moskowitz said Commission made “flatly mistaken observation” that Fla. federal court found Satellite Home Viewer Act that mandated must-carry rules to be constitutional. The court “never made such a finding and indeed it could not have, as it concerned a complaint relating to distant, not local signals.” EchoStar also criticized FCC for relying on “unsubstantiated comments” from NAB “without any empirical or other support” and treating them as facts. Finally, EchoStar said, satellite carriers in general, and EchoStar in particular, had devoted substantial resources to ensuring that all local TV broadcast signals carried on satellite systems enjoy superior signal quality.