John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge, will testify tomorrow before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the hearing titled, “Reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA).” Bergmayer's testimony will recommend that Congress reauthorize STELA to ensure that customers can continue to receive the programming they pay for.
Bergmayer will recommend that Congress protect consumers from the increased rate of programming blackouts due to broken retransmission consent and to take steps to increase video comepetition.
The following can be attributed to John Bergmayer, Senior Staff Attorney at Public Knowledge:
“The STELA Reauthorization presents a great opportunity to discuss broad reform in the video marketplace. While STELA should not be held up because of debate over broader reforms, Congress must look for opportunities to level the playing field for new video alternatives.”
The witnesses for the hearing are as follows:
John Bergmayer
Senior Staff Attorney
Public Knowledge
Allison Minea
Director and Senior Counsel for Regulatory Affairs
Dish Network
Ellen Stutzman
Director of Research and Public Policy
Writers Guild of America, West
Marci Burdick
Senior Vice President of Broadcasting
Schurz Communications, Inc.
A link to the testimony can be found here.
A link to the hearing can be found here.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.