By SooToday.com Staff
SooToday.com
Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NEWS RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN
BART STUPAK
1ST CONGRESSIONAL
DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

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Stupak applauds delivery of local programming to Marquette market via satellite

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) applauded satellite providers DirectTV and DISH Network for launching local-into-local channels in the Marquette Designated Market Area (DMA), which covers 10 of the Upper Peninsula’s 15 counties.

With these launches, more than 90,000 Northern Michigan residents will have access to local television channels via satellite for the first time from both satellite providers.

“Local television is an important source of information that all Americans should have access to,” Stupak said. “These broadcasts provide community news, emergency information, local sports, weather alerts and critical safety information. I appreciate the commitment DirectTV and DISH Network have made in the Upper Peninsula to ensure residents have access to these local channels.”

Congressman Stupak has long advocated for expanding rural consumers’ access to local programming through the satellite industry.

Earlier this year, Stupak introduced H.R. 927, the Satellite Consumers’ Right to Local Channels Act, which would establish a deadline of one year for satellite providers to provide local-into-local coverage in all the nation’s 210 DMAs.

DirectTV and DISH Network’s launch of local-into-local in the Marquette DMA on November 11 and July 8, respectively, makes great progress in remedying this situation in Northern Michigan.

Prior to these launches, more than 100,000 households in the First Congressional District did not have access to local television channels.

Satellite customers in Alger, Baraga, Delta, Dickinson, Houghton, Iron, Keweenaw, Marquette, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft counties will benefit from the expansion of coverage in the Marquette media market.

Households with satellite service in the 10-county Marquette media market will now be able to access channels including WBUP (ABC), WLUC (NBC), WJMN (CBS) and WNMU (PBS).

The remaining five counties in the Upper Peninsula lie outside the Marquette media market and will not be impacted by the change.

Chippewa, Luce and Mackinac counties are in the Traverse City media market, Menominee County is served by Green Bay and Gogebic County by Duluth, Minnesota.

“Rural Americans deserve the same level of television access that more than 95 percent of the American public currently enjoys,” Stupak said. “This investment in Northern Michigan is great progress, but we must continue to work to ensure all Americans are granted local channel access.”

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