Local Choice pulled from Senate bill [telecom]

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By Daniel Frankel, FierceCable, September 10, 2014

Fearing that their Local Choice proposal is too ambitious for full Congressional approval on a short timeline, the proposal's creators, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), have pulled it out of the Senate Commerce Committee's satellite-TV bill.

The provision, which was in the draft of the Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act (STAVRA), would have probably been too big and controversial to pass through quickly. That timing would have been an issue, given that STAVRA needs approval by the end of the year.

Had it passed, Local Choice would have done away with broadcast-retransmission payments from pay-TV operators, essentially stripping broadcast stations from the pay-TV bundle. Subscribers would choose only the local stations they want and pay broadcasters directly.

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Neal McLain