Contrary to your recent story, "Utah broadcaster battles new TV plan," satellite television provider EchoStar's plan presented at a Washington hearing before Sen. Orrin Hatch would provide more television stations, not fewer, to viewers in rural Utah. More important, the proposal would provide high definition television programming to viewers who are currently being denied that service because their local broadcaster has not converted their signal from analog to digital.
EchoStar is not proposing to substitute local stations with out-of-state stations, as your article reported. EchoStar is pleased to be providing its customers throughout Utah with all local network affiliates because this service is an essential part of our ability to be competitive with cable television. Nothing in the proposal suggested to Sen. Hatch would change that.
In your article, Bruce Reese of KSL-TV's parent company charges that EchoStar would "steal" their viewers by bringing in network signals from California. What he's really expressing is his fear that viewers his station is currently taking for granted would choose to watch the high-definition network programming on another station if it were offered to them.
It's time to stop the foot-dragging by local broadcasters who are now two years past the date Congress set for them to be broadcasting in digital. Consumers and taxpayers should not continue to suffer from the broadcasters' scheme to hoard the public's valuable analog spectrum.
Regina Thomson
Area sales manager
Echosphere LLC — DISH Network
Salt Lake City