How does the new law define “unserved household”?
STELA updates the definition of “unserved household” to include a standard for determining when a household is served by a digital signal for section 119 purposes. Specifically, the definition now includes a provision pertaining to the digital noise-limited contour in addition to the existing analog Grade B contour reference. A household falling within the noise-limited contour of the primary stream of a digital network station signal will now be considered “served” under section 119. STELA also amends the unserved household definition to take into account the ability of a television broadcast station to transmit multicast streams. Specifically, a subscriber who can receive an in-market, over-the-air signal of a multicast stream affiliated with a particular television broadcast network will be considered “served” starting in October 2010 or January 2011, depending on when the multicast stream first came into existence. For example, a household will be considered served on October 1, 20
