Murdoch Asks Congress to Change U.S. Copyright Law

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch asked Congress Thursday to change U.S. laws to help his new Sky satellite broadcast venture challenge cable television.

“If you give us the legal authority to compete, the rest is up to us,” Murdoch told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

He is seeking backing for changes in U.S. copyright law to benefit his $1-billion venture, to be formed through a 50% stake in Colorado-based EchoStar Communications Corp. The changes would give his and other direct broadcast satellite services, which beam to home receiving dishes, the right to retransmit local TV broadcasts.

“Congress must clarify that satellite competitors like Sky are legally entitled to carry local broadcast stations in the same way that cable and wireless cable systems can today,” he said.

It is the latest in a series of battles the Australian-born Murdoch, who has taken American citizenship, has joined in the United States and elsewhere to change laws that hindered the growth of his international media empire.

Committee members made no commitments but acknowledged that cable prices have skyrocketed and that more competition is needed.

Murdoch told reporters he is certain he can fight off the lobbying of the powerful cable industry, which serves 65 million subscribers. DBS has about 5 million subscribers.

“I don’t believe the cable industry is capable of maintaining its political position in defense of a monopoly,” he said after the hearing.

Quick action appears to be unlikely because a dispute is brewing among congressional committees vying for authority over any changes to the law covering television programming. The Senate Appropriations and Judiciary panels are also considering claiming jurisdiction over the issue.

Murdoch, who already has big satellite television operations in Europe and Asia, said he is prepared to wait.

Committee Chairman John McCain, an Arizona Republican, noted that cable prices rose by twice the rate of inflation last year despite legislation aimed at spurring competition and lowering prices.

He said the goal of the hearing, the first in a series, is not to benefit any television service but to ensure that any legislation approved does not make the mistakes of the 1996 law and to “put the consumer first and everyone else second.”

The law Murdoch opposes says a cable service must allocate 30% of its capacity to local stations and they in turn must give or sell that programming to the cable channel. This “must carry” provision does not apply to DBS, which DBS says puts them at a competitive disadvantage with cable.

Murdoch, chairman of News Corp., told the panel his new service, Sky television, if covered under “must carry,” would broadcast as many local stations as it could.