Noncommercial stations have told the FCC that it may have to step in to help push DBS providers to get noncommercial TV station networks to more of their subscribers.
That came in comments to the FCC, which was directed by Congress in satellite reauthorization legislation (The STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014) to report on the current DMA system of determining access to programming and how it could better foster localism. The legislation also provided more flexibility for DBS operators to deliver state noncom networks to subs in orphan counties, border-crossing DMAs that deliver programming from one state to subs in another.
In their filing, the Association of Public Television Stations and the Organization of State Broadcasting Executives said that they had expected that provision would "result to a considerable degree in the voluntary carriage of state public television network signals by the DBS carriers," but says that had not been the case.
"APTS and OSBE believe that a dialogue needs to begin again among the Commission, public television and the DBS carriers to explore creative and effective solutions to the problem of the unavailability of local public television network signals throughout states," they told the FCC.
They argue that the FCC's report must show that "little or no" progress had been made in achieving the legislation's goal of state-wide coverage for public TV nets, and look seriously at whether anything short of "legal compulsion" can get DBS carriers to "to carry state network signals that they have the authority to carry."
Commenters have until May 12 to weigh in, with replies to those comments due June 11.
Dish and DirecTV had not responded to requests for comment at press time.
