As of result of a 1997 Supreme Court ruling, cable and satellite broadcast services have been required to become Local Television Service Providers. Many of the cable and satellite companies already offered the their customers the ability to watch local affiliate stations of major national networks as a courtesy (ABC, CBS, NBC and the local PBS stations). But the Supreme Court ruling required these pay-television systems to be local television service providers and that meant including independent and minor syndicated network affiliates as well. At first, it was a bitter pill to swallow because they were forced to charge a customer for programming that they could receive for free over the airwaves. But it soon became apparent to customers that by having their local stations available through their cable box or satellite receiver were not such a bad idea. Convenience won out and the pay-television systems became full-fledged local television service providers. The advent of HDTV and the explosion of the cell phone industry created an enormous need for bandwidth. Although the cable and satellite broadcast industry were quick to embrace the digital TV revolution made possible by newer High Definition Televisions, local television stations were not in any hurry to step up to take advantage of the shift in technology. However, there is a definite quality loss when watching analog broadcasts over cable or satellite systems. Some national networks, such as CBS, NBC, and ABC began offering HD programming, but the bulk of local broadcasters stuck to their analog roots. The dilemma faced by cable and satellite broadcasters who, by the federal mandate, had been forced to become local television service providers became a business issue. Many local independent stations were not getting a boost in viewership by being anchored to basic cable programming. In fact as more people turned to pay-television systems, they were quickly replacing the broadcast airwaves as major local television service providers.
