Reps. Seek EchoStar Compromise

REPS SEEK ECHOSTAR COMPROMISE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
A few House lawmakers from rural districts are trying to broker a compromise to ensure that more than a half-million EchoStar Communications subscribers continue to receive out-of-market feeds of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox programming. Under a May Federal Appeals Court ruling, EchoStar is facing an injunction that would deny it the right to provide distant network signals to anyone in the United States. As of April 2002, EchoStar sold distant signals to 1.2 million customers, and about one-half were legally ineligible to buy the programming. But the court's ruling apparently would also require denial of service to the 600,000 customers who were legally receiving the programming. The fate of EchoStar’s eligible subscribers has gained the attention of Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA), Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) and Charles Bass (R-NH), who have asked EchoStar and hundreds of network affiliates to reach a settlement.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6354449.html?display=Breaking+News