New Laws to Change the Face of Television

From sharper pictures to expanded local broadcasts from satellites, television will get a significant make-over next year thanks to a flurry of new federal laws and regulations.

Some of the changes will begin when the new year does Saturday. That’s when the Federal Communications Commission has decreed that every new television set, 13 inches or larger, must have a so-called V-chip device that enables viewers to electronically block TV programs based on ratings by the television industry.

Some V-chip-equipped TV sets are available now, but next year most sets will have the device because manufacturers are required to install it in the sets they produce. And the technology should also make greater inroads due to the wider availability of digital TV because many consumers will trade up from older sets that are not equipped with the V-chip or capable of receiving digital TV signals.

Most of the television stations in medium-size markets are expected to join the 84 stations nationwide that already offer digital TV, as a result of FCC rules passed this year.

The new digital format features super sharp video and compact disc-quality sound. It allows broadcasters to air multiple channels of programming as well as ancillary digital services such as broadcasting data to computer users.

The nation’s 11 million satellite television viewers also will have more program choices next year thanks to a measure Congress passed in the fall that will enable satellite operators such as DirecTV and Echostar to offer local television stations to customers with their bicycle wheel-size satellite dishes.

Most satellite TV customers today must use a separate antenna or subscribe to cable TV to receive local television signals with any clarity. Experts say the lack of local channels from satellite TV services has been the biggest factor keeping more consumers from subscribing to satellite TV.

The FCC in the coming year also will set new rules to implement satellite TV reforms approved by Congress. Those changes could reverberate throughout the booming telecommunications industry. Experts expect the cable industry to respond to the competitive threat from satellites by stepping up efforts to deploy high-speed Internet access over cable modems, a feature satellite TV operators have yet to offer on a widespread basis.

High-speed Internet access may also be affected by two other FCC actions next year.

The agency will decide whether to approve AT&T; Corp.’s proposed purchase of MediaOne Group Inc., a bid that would bolster AT&T;’s strategy to build a nationwide cable network offering cable TV, high-speed Internet access and local telephone service.

In addition, the FCC will rule on whether MCI WorldCom Inc., the nation’s No. 2 long-distance carrier, can buy the nation’s No. 3 long distance carrier Sprint Corp. and thereby acquire a significant wireless telephone business, as well as solidifying MCI WorldCom’s hold in long-distance and in various Internet markets.