FCC Makes Congress' STELAR Modifications

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The FCC has officially modified its rules and deadlines to comply with the directives in the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR), which include prohibiting coordinated retrans negotiations among noncommonly owned, same-market stations.

The order, adopted Feb. 13 but not released until this week, takes a number of other steps.

STELAR is the bill that, primarily, reauthorizes the distant signal compulsory license, but includes some other FCC authorities that needed renewing, plus a few additions from Congress in its most recent reauthorization of the license, including sunsetting the FCC ban on integrated set-tops.

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John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.