Bush signs satellite TV law

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US President Bush has signed into law a $388 billion (E292 billion) appropriations package which includes provisions regarding satellite reception. The new law, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004, gives the satellite TV industry 18 months to phase out a two-dish solution for reception of a certain set of local services, an item that targets EchoStar and its use of two dishes for receiving a select set of local TV channels for a number of markets.

The act also includes a provision allowing satellite TV to deliver "significantly viewed" stations to consumers who live outside the station's home market. In addition, the new provisions extend for five years the compulsory license that allows DBS services to provide super-stations and distant network signals.

SHVERA also allows for the creation of a "digital white area," which will allow satellite TV companies to deliver distant broadcast digital and high-definition signals to consumers who cannot receive a local digital TV signal.