Senate bill aims to beam Portland TV stations to county’s viewers

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, December 26, 2007

A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate to allow satellite television providers to offer Portland stations to four northeastern Oregon counties, including Wallowa County, is not making the stations currently serving those markets very happy.

“The whole point of doing this is for the viewers to get the local news,” said Patricia McRae, Vice President and General Manager of station KHQ-TV in Spokane. “Portland’s not going to come in and change the way they cover local news just because they’re up on the satellite now.”

U.S. Senators Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden introduced the bill to allow satellite companies to add the Portland stations to their current lineup of local stations.

Under federal law, Wallowa, Grant, Umatilla and Malheur counties are limited to broadcast stations from Washington or Idaho.

“When I go home to Pendleton, almost no issue is raised to me by my neighbors more often than their frustration over not being able to get Oregon news, Oregon scores, Oregon weather,” Senator Smith said. “Our bill will correct the law so local news is local and reports of rain means reports of rain in your own town.”

But Paul Dughi, Vice-President and General Manager of KNDO-KNDU in Pasco, Wash., believes his station already provides those services to the Oregon areas close to the Tri-Cities region.

“We cover local news there, we cover the sports there. I don’t think Portland is all of a sudden going to come all the way out here to cover these things,” Dughi said.

Cable subscribers in Pendleton currently receive both Portland and Tri-Cities stations for the major broadcast networks, while satellite subscribers can only receive the Tri-Cities stations.

The four counties targeted to receive the Portland stations are Wallowa, Grant, Umatilla and Malheur. DIRECTV Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Reinsdorf said this is being done in other parts of the country where the Designated Market Area (DMA) covers more than one state – and viewers wish to see the stations in their home state.

“Forty-seven percent of DMAs cross state lines. We think this is a step in the right direction and giving the people more choices they want,” Reinsdorf said. “Technology now allows someone who lives in your county to use a Slingbox to watch a Los Angeles TV station or a Washington, D.C., station there if they have a broadband connection. If we have the capability why shouldn’t they be able to get their adjoining market from in-state?”

Currently in Wallowa County, the only ways to view Portland stations are to subscribe to Crestview Cable, which carries KGW-TV, an NBC affiliate, or use an outdoor antennae to receive the same station’s signals over the airwaves from a translator on Sheep Ridge.

Satellite subscribers receive the Spokane stations for the four commercial networks, an independent station and the public television stations there. Oregon Public Television is also available on Crestview Cable and over the airwaves with KTVR-TV out of La Grande through the translator.

A recent notice in the Chieftain warned cable subscribers that KGW’s agreement to continue carrying its signal was ending at the end of the year. Negotiations are on track, according to Roger Harris, Vice President of Cable Operations for Crestview. “We’re dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s,” he said. He doesn’t see any problems having the contract signed by the end of the year.

Of the legislation, Harris said, “We’re thrilled we’ve been able to provide Portland news to our customers in Wallowa county for 25 years.”

Despite a heavy legislative schedule in the coming year, Reinsdorf is optimistic the bill will pass. “The other driver on this issue is sports,” he said. “When the Ducks are doing well, people in eastern Oregon probably want to see them as well. They might not want to see Boise State.”