Senate satellite bill passes committee

The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday passed the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA), its version of the satellite reauthorization bill, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The bill allows satellite operators to carry out-of-market network TV station signals for viewers who don't received an adequate signal from their nearby station. It's an issue the Association of Public Television Stations has been working on for several years, much of the time spent in negotiations with the DISH Network. "APTS is pleased with the firm action taken today by the Senate Commerce Committee to end the discriminatory behavior by DISH Network against local public television stations," APTS President Larry Sidman said in a statement. APTS has reached agreements with other satellite providers to carry local pubTV stations.