DBS Local-To-Local Dream To Be Turned Into Reality

President Clinton is expected to turn satellite TV companies' local-to-local dream into reality as soon as today when he signs the budget legislation that makes it legal for satellite customers to beam local TV programming to their customers. Congress and Clinton hope that the legislation, part of the catch-all budget bill Congress approved before leaving for Thanksgiving, will open the door for competition between satellite TV companies and the cable industry. A White House spokesman said Clinton would sign the measure today or Tuesday. Both major direct broadcast satellite TV companies have pledged to beam the local-to-local signal to their customers as soon as the legislation is signed into law. EchoStar pledged to begin providing the local-to-local signals in 14 major markets within 24 hours of Clinton signing the bill into law, and DirecTV promised to begin the service in New York and Los Angeles within hours.Source: The Hollywood Reporter