WASHINGTON
– U.S. Rep. John Tanner highlighted recent developments that
could
help many Tennessee
families gain access to additional local television options.
“We feel
we are making progress
toward ensuring 8th District families have access to news,
information and recreational programming that originates from our state
and best
serves our local communities,” Congressman Tanner said.
The House Energy
and Commerce
Committee recently passed the Satellite Home Viewer Reauthorization Act
with
amendments that help further two of Congressman Tanner’s
priorities to impact Tennesseans’
channel lineup options. The bill must still be scheduled for
consideration by
the full House, and similar legislation must also be deliberated in the
Senate.
Congressman
Tanner has also
discussed with the Federal Communications Commission the difficulties
some Tennessee
families have
experienced in receiving digital TV signals.
DMA Reform
Congressman
Tanner and others have
highlighted how some local areas – including Lake, Obion and
Weakley counties
in Northwest Tennessee – have limited access to in-state news,
weather and
athletic programming because they are geographically included in
designated
market areas (DMAs) based in other states. This drastically reduces the
number
of information sources available about issues affecting the state.
The bill
passed by the Energy and
Commerce Committee requires the FCC to issue a report on how many
households
receive local broadcasts originating from out-of-state and whether the
DMA structure
can be adjusted to provide consumers with more in-state programming.
Tanner
said this is a major step,
insisting that the FCC re-examine limitations in the current DMA
structure.
Local Channel
Availability on Satellite
Currently,
many families live in
areas not serviced by cable companies but with a satellite TV provider
that does
not provide local programming. These families also are often denied
local news,
information and athletic programming about their communities. A
provision in
the legislation passed by the Energy and Commerce Committee would
accelerate
the process for requiring satellite companies to provide this local
television
coverage to these customers.
This
is of particular interest to
many rural families in West Tennessee,
Tanner
said.
Closing Gaps
in Digital TV Coverage
Some
neighborhoods, including many
in Middle Tennessee, are still unable to receive digital television
signals,
even after the mandatory transition from analog to digital broadcast
signals in
June. Congressman Tanner wrote to the FCC to raise the concerns of
affected
Tennesseans.
“Constituents…
have expressed
considerable displeasure over their inability to receive signals
despite
purchasing converters [and] antennas, and performing all the
re-scanning steps
recommended by the FCC,” Tanner wrote in his letter to the FCC.
The
FCC assured Tanner it will
continue to work on closing DTV blind spots.
“The
Commission is assisting any
station requesting action to mitigate or resolve reception issues that
surfaced
after the June 12 transition,” the FCC wrote in a response to
Tanner.
Congressman
Tanner said all of
these issues will continue to be a priority for his office.
“We
will continue working toward
expanding the available programming options that help Tennesseans stay
in touch
with their local communities and our state,” Tanner said.
Tanner
represents the
8th Congressional District in West and Middle Tennessee.
Co-founder of the
fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats, Tanner serves on the Ways and
Means
Committee, where he chairs the Social Security Subcommittee, and on the
Foreign
Affairs Committee. A veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Tennessee Army
National
Guard, Tanner chairs the U.S.
delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and is serving a two-year
term as
NATO PA President.
