DirecTV Says Market Modification Carriage Should Be DBS Right, Not Obligation

Direct broadcast satellite companies should have the right, not the obligation, to carry a TV station's signal in a market modification, DirecTV said in an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 15-71. The filing said DirecTV counsel Michael Nilsson of Harris Wiltshire met with Evan Baranoff of the Media Bureau to lay out the satellite company's contention that it supports stations having certain carriage rights in their modified markets, as long as there's a means of demonstrating technical or economic reasons for why that signal can't be carried, and that those carriage rights are subject to the same limits that apply to local carriage. DirecTV previously proposed its own form letter for that certification process (see 1506240020).