Satcaster union may face bumpy path
Rural areas could be hurt by marriage, Bassetti sez
Victoria Bassetti, general counsel for the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, said a merger of the country's two largest direct broadcast satellite congloms services could hurt rural areas that have no access to cable.
Bassetti's comments came during a congressional briefing at the cable industry's annual confab in the Windy City.
Murdoch's push to acquire DirecTV is the topic of much discussion at the convention hosted by the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn.
Cable operators don't relish the thought of Murdoch increasing his empire through satellite service.
It's not clear what regulatory approval Murdoch would need if he strikes a pact with DirecTV.
Bassetti said pols would want to make sure News Corp.'s TV networks don't strike exclusive deals with DirecTV.
Good news
Cablers got good news later in the session when key congressional aides said they will stay out of the fight between cable operators and broadcasters over carriage in the digital age.
Broadcasters want Capitol Hill to overturn a recent ruling of the Federal Communications Commission that says cablers don't have to carry more than one digital signal, even if a broadcaster uses the additional digital spectrum to multicast.
House Telecom Subcommittee counsel Will Nordwind said that his boss, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), believes the two industries should work out the problem on their own. Nordwind's report was significant, since Upton is generally seen as a strong ally of broadcasters.
Upton is chair of the telecom panel, which has oversight over the TV biz.
