ATVA Applauds New STELAR Legislation

Following the agreement reached by the House and Senate Commerce Committees on the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, the American Television Alliance issued the following statement:

We thank Chairman Upton, Chairman Walden, Ranking Member Waxman, Ranking Member Eshoo, Chairman Rockefeller and Ranking Member Thune for this bipartisan legislation that ensures that more than 1.5 million satellite TV subscribers will not lose service at the end of the year. This legislation is a clear and convincing win for consumers. It serves as evidence that Congress recognizes that the current retransmission consent system is broken. The changes in the legislation embody the first steps to curbing skyrocketing retrans fees and local channel blackouts affecting millions of consumers. There is more to do but we greatly appreciate the efforts Congress has begun to reform retransmission consent and we encourage the House and Senate to move this legislation expeditiously.