‘On the basis of their digital efforts to date, broadcasters have...
“On the basis of their digital efforts to date, broadcasters have no legitimate claim to preferential digital carriage,” AT&T said in comments on FCC must-carry rules (CS 98-120). Company said broadcast DTV efforts had “lagged significantly,” while cable launched…
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more than 60 new digital channels: “Even in upgraded systems, dual must-carry would deprive consumers of innovative and diverse video and nonvideo services.” HBO agreed that even though cable channel capacity was increasing “there is increasing demand for that capacity from new and enhanced cable networks,” many of which are owned by broadcasters. It also said broadcasters increasingly were using retransmission consent as leverage for carriage of their owned cable channels. C-SPAN said its experience launching C-SPAN 3 and other channels showed must-carry was limiting cable channel capacity. Paxson said its proposal to allow multicast channels to be downconverted and carried on digital cable channels would ease burden on cable, potentially allowing 20 TV stations to be carried on significantly less than 1/3 of upgraded cable system’s capacity. Requiring cable carriage of only one of station’s DTV channels “forces broadcasters to make a choice that is ultimately detrimental to consumers,” CEA said: “Without assurance that digital broadcast signals will be carried during the DTV transition, broadcasters and programmers will have little incentive to produce original digital programming [and] consumers will have less incentive to purchase digital receivers.” CEA said must-carry could be based on system channel capacity, and “fears are grossly exaggerated” about impact of must-carry on cable network carriage because channel capacity is increasing “dramatically” and not all broadcasters will seek carriage at once. Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) is “vitally concerned” over dual carriage and legal grounding of satellite must-carry regime, it said in comments to FCC on must-carry. “Considering DTV-related issues in the context of satellite carriage at this point is premature,” SBCA said. Mandating dual carriage would be setback to development of competitive environment that already was providing more video choices to consumers, SBCA said. Meanwhile, SBCA member EchoStar said it strongly supported Commission decision not to impose dual carriage requirements. “There is no basis for the Commission to reconsider the decision legally or factually. Dual carriage would be unconstitutional.”