DISH Avoids STELA Noncommercial Mandate

DISH has managed to avoid the expedited noncommercial HD carriage mandate in the newly reauthorized satellite distant signal blanket license law by striking an independent HD carriage deal with at least 30 noncommercial stations. But it still plans to challenge the law that forced it to strike that deal.

After a court rejected its request for a preliminary injunction against the mandate, the satellite operator was facing a July 27 deadline in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act for either striking its own, independent carriage deal with at least 30 noncoms, or be subject to a mandate that it carry all noncommercial stations in HD by the end of next year rather than by 2013, which is the FCC deadline--part of a phase-in plan--for satellite HD carriage for commercial and noncommercial stations alike. DISH had tried to negotiate a blanket deal with the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), but had failed to do so. The deal was not with APTS, which represents noncoms nationwide, but does include a geographically diverse group of stations.