Fergie's Tech Blog

SCOTUS Refuses to Consider EchoStar Appeal

An AP newswire article, via SiliconValley.com, reports that:

The Supreme Court refused Monday to consider an appeal by satellite television provider EchoStar Communications Corp. of a nationwide injunction barring it from transmitting network television signals.

The Court's decision is the latest step in a nine-year legal battle between Englewood, Co.-based EchoStar, which operates the DISH satellite network, and the major television broadcast networks and their affiliates. Federal law allows satellite television companies to provide network signals to their customers who are unable to receive local network broadcasts. Such customers are usually rural residents who live beyond local network broadcast areas.

The television networks -- including Fox Broadcasting, owned by News Corp., and affiliates of NBC, CBS and ABC -- have argued, however, that EchoStar has violated the law by providing network signals to customers who are able to receive the broadcasts through regular antennas.

posted by Fergie @ 1/08/2007 02:33:00 PM