New Policy Study Argues Congress Should Update Laws Like STELAR for the Modern Video Marketplace
In a new policy study, R Street Manager of Technology and Innovation Tom Struble examines the provisions in STELAR, analyzes a recent bill that would eliminate STELAR and replace it with a new system of video laws, and offers suggestions for other updates to our video laws that Congress should consider.
Struble argues that STELAR made sense in the ’80s and ’90s when satellite TV was a new entrant in need of protection, but it’s now an outdated and unfair subsidy for satellite multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that should be abandoned. There are many other outdated relics in our video laws that should also be abandoned, Struble claims, such as undue restrictions on broadcast ownership and burdensome must-carry obligations. The video marketplace has never been more competitive than it is today. Congress should recognize this and unleash market forces by eliminating outdated video laws, while keeping the core of these laws intact.
Struble concludes, “the laws governing our video marketplace have gone almost entirely unchanged since the 1990s, despite recent technological advancements that are radically reshaping the way Americans produce, distribute and consume video content.”
