Should Satellite Carriers be Permitted to Provide Subscribers with their Significantly Viewed Television Broadcast Stations?
One issue that has received particular attention during this session involves satellite delivery of “significantly viewed” over-the-air television broadcast stations. Before addressing the merits of permitting carriers to deliver such signals, a brief discussion of the history and concept of significantly viewed stations is in order. As discussed above, the cable statutory license was created at a time when the Federal Communications Commission heavily regulated the number and character of television signals that a cable system could carry. Cable systems were required to carry local stations and, depending upon their particular circumstances, could carry up to three distant stations. However, additional distant stations could be carried provided that they were “significantly viewed” in the communities served by the cable system. The FCC determined when a broadcast station was significantly viewed in a particular community, relying on measurement of over-the-air viewing of the signal in
