# FCC adopts new rules for satellite TV programming



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

WASHINGTON (AP) - Satellite television providers such as DirecTV and the Dish Network will have to follow the same rules for political and children's advertising as over-the-air broadcasters and cable TV operators under regulations announced Thursday.

The rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission require satellite operators to allow political candidates to buy advertising time on their systems and to sell it to them at the lowest rates they offer to commercial customers. Like cable systems, satellite operators have commercial time on the networks they carry that they can sell.

Michael Perko, an official with the FCC's media bureau, said the commission acted now because of the increase in satellite. The FCC reported in January that 23.7 million Americans get television through a satellite service, 22 percent of all households that pay for television. Cable, with 70.5 million households, has 75 percent of the market.

The FCC also limited the amount of commercial time on children's programs to 12 minutes per hour during the week and 10 1/2 minutes per hour on weekends, the same restrictions on broadcast and cable.

*Full Story*


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

Do I take this to mean instead of do not feed the "pig" commercials we will get pork barrel instead?


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## Richard King (Mar 25, 2002)

Yep. I guess I am not surprised at this though. I think this just is more of an indicator of how well satellite is doing.


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

It only seems fair - satellite should get the same "rules" as cable in these issues.


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## dfergie (Feb 28, 2003)

scooper said:


> It only seems fair - satellite should get the same "rules" as cable in these issues.


same "political spam" :lol:


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## Mike Richardson (Jun 12, 2003)

Does DISH and/or DirecTV sell advertising on the local channels? Doesn't seem like they do - maybe they should look into that.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

Local stations are a product complete. Neither DBS, nor cable gets to insert its own ads into that.

However general stations, like ESPN, USA, TNT, etc, have "local avails", where the cable op can insert ads. DBS can, as well, however, a "local" DBS ad is going to be seen nationwide. This is a major revenue source for cable, since many businesses that cannot afford to buy, and have no need to buy, ads on a broadcaster that covers hundreds of miles, can buy just the town it does business in. DBS mostly sells its local avails to Ronco-type companies and uses them to tout PPVs or higher tier packages.

Now, as it comes to politics, this is an old rule. Political ads are sold by TV and radio and cable at the lowest rate going. No reason DBS shouldn't play by the same rules. (BTW, if you are selling political ads, get the money IN CASH before you run the ad, otherwise you will never get paid.)

However, here is the problem. With cable you can buy system by system. Great for local politicians. What local pol could afford to by a big city, just to run in a small district that is 1% of that whole? So you buy cable in the areas your voters live in.

With DBS you would be buying an ad nationwide. There is only one race that is being conducted nationwide.

In fact, one reason that I like DBS over cable is that around election time EVERY ad on EVERY general commercial channel is political ads on cable.


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## Capmeister (Sep 16, 2003)

scooper said:


> It only seems fair - satellite should get the same "rules" as cable in these issues.


Can you explain to me what business the gov't has in making rules for such a private contract? What jurisdiction is this in the constitution?!?!?


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

scooper said:


> It only seems fair - satellite should get the same "rules" as cable in these issues.


Sounds fair to me too. OK, so now that Cable doesn't pay for broadcast networks like ABC (they are must carry type arrangements), we don't either...?

I'd LOVE for Satellite to be subject to the same regulatory rules as Cable..... as long as we get ALL of the beneficial ones.....


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

Capmeister said:


> Can you explain to me what business the gov't has in making rules for such a private contract? What jurisdiction is this in the constitution?!?!?


Easy. Its not a "private contract". The airwaves belong to the people of the United States. They are LOANED to broadcasters to operate in the public interest as a public trustee, subject to such regulation as the people of the United States, through its elected Congress and its bi-partisan appointed FCC, wish to make.

Black & White theories of First Admendment absolutism are not compatatable with broadcasting.

95% of FCC rules would be unconstitutional if applied to the print media. The point being, that broadcasting is not the print media.


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## catman (Jun 27, 2002)

cable networks have at least 10mins of commerials . IF , anyone has ever watched a movie you see it takes longer . Sometimes they cut parts out .


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## Capmeister (Sep 16, 2003)

SamC said:


> Easy. Its not a "private contract". The airwaves belong to the people of the United States.


The people of Canada will be happy to have learned that.

Last I checked, Sats sat in space, not on towers on land.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

So?????

The FCC regulates sat broadcasting aimed at the USA. The CRTC regulates (to a much higher degree, BTW) sat broadcasting aimed at Canada. And so on. Each country has varrious sat locations for its use, by international agreement. For example, DirecTV latest locals scheme, involving a second dish at 72.5 requires US FCC and Canadian CRTC approval, because 72.5 belongs to Canada.

The air between the sat and the dish belong to the people of the country involved. DirecTV, like your local TV and radio stations and cable operator, operates as a public trustee, subject to the rules the public wants to make.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

scooper said:


> It only seems fair - satellite should get the same "rules" as cable in these issues.


So let us have LiLs from multiple DMAs, just like cable. I get Savannah AND Jacksonville locals on Adelphia cable even though I am technically in the Jax DMA. According to Dish, I can only get Jax LiLs on satellite, so when I moved here from Atlanta I cleverly kept my Atl locals instead.


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2004)

Nick said:


> So let us have LiLs from multiple DMAs, just like cable. I get Savannah AND Jacksonville locals on Adelphia cable even though I am technically in the Jax DMA. According to Dish, I can only get Jax LiLs on satellite, so when I moved here from Atlanta I cleverly kept my Atl locals instead.


You could move to Waycross a true white area in the JAX DMA and reap the benefits.


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## Mike Richardson (Jun 12, 2003)

SamC said:


> Local stations are a product complete. Neither DBS, nor cable gets to insert its own ads into that.


When I had cable I would see sometimes, ads for Cable Pay Per View movies on local stations. These ads were for the specific cable company's movies and did not air on OTA, other cable companies, or DBS.


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