Satellite Trade Group Ending Lobbying Efforts

SBCA’s founding president Chuck Hewitt, now pres. of Hewitt & Assoc. consulting, said the decision was largely the result of DirecTV and EchoStar’s “inability to cooperate on satellite issues, primarily due to their competitive nature.” According to Hayden, “it is fair to say the DirecTV and EchoStar have made the determination that they can be more effective and can be more agile in pursuing their Washington interests outside the broader umbrella of a major trade Association.” Hayden said the DBS duo will lobby “separately, and together when it is in both of their interests to work together.” DirecTV and EchoStar announced in a joint statement Thurs. that they “will continue to work together on regulatory and legislative issues of importance on a local, state and national level,” but the companies have differed on regulatory issues like digital white space and orbital spacing.

Industry members said they're disappointed that EchoStar and DirecTV can’t join forces to combat cable, and expressed concern about satellite broadcasting moving forward without a unified voice. Former SBCA president Andrew Wright, now chief of staff for Rep. Sherman (D- Cal.), called the SBCA’s move “a big loss” to satellite. Policymakers from the FCC and the Hill will now hear from individual companies on satellite issues instead. Without a unified approach to policy, “the industry and the Association can’t move forward and successfully fight the battles that go on inside the Beltway and to be a major player with NAB and NCTA,” said Hewitt. Hayden said the concerns are “a fair articulation of the risk of the direction that we're taking, but that the future remains to be seen.”

The Satellite Industry Assn., representing satellite manufacturers, operators and launch companies, is the satellite industry’s other major voice. SIA Dir. David Cavossa said “it’s always good to have several groups representing the industry, so it’s unfortunate to lose a friend on the association side.” When asked if the SIA will look to fill in the satellite broadcasting gap, Cavossa said the SIA “is not planning anything at this point. As things develop that need our support, the SIA will try to step in and help.”

Wright, who was president of the SBCA from 2001 to 2003, said that “in spite of always being outgunned by broadcasters and cable, the SBCA was still able to bring about important legal and regulatory victories that helped satellite.” Wright said some of the SBCA’s major wins were the fight for big dishes in the 1980’s, the fight against regulations preventing consumers from having dishes in their yards, the fight for distant network signals and local-into-local, the reauthorization of what was first SHIVA/SHVERA, and getting satellite radio off the ground, as well as helping to turn satellite TV from a hardware business into a consumer service business in general. “For an underfunded trade association, that’s an enormous legacy,” Wright said.

Given the circumstances, the SBCA’s decision to focus on education and training “is probably the best direction that SBCA can head at this time,” said Hewitt: “As the industry moves forward, hopefully its leadership will see ways in which they can cooperate and revitalize the SBCA as a strong trade association in D.C.” SBCA officials said the National Standards & Testing Program (NSTP) for certification, which has trained and tested more than 45,000 satellite technicians for residential and commercial installation, will continue. The new SBCA “will focus on expanding and developing he current education and training programs and creating new programs and trouble-shooting,” officials said. A spokeswoman for the SBCA said the organization still wants to lead cable in customer service by continuing to make sure that installers get an industry-wide overview of the basics for installation and customer service. DirecTV currently mandates NSTP certification for all of its installers, but EchoStar doesn’t.