HOUSE LEADERS TO PRESS FCC TO TAKE SERIOUS LOOK AT A LA CARTE

Barton said the issue was bound up with the debate over indecency. Having spoken to NFL Comr. Paul Tagliabue earlier in the day, Barton told the group of small and rural cable operators that the Super Bowl halftime show had “crystallized” the issue for many Americans and prompted lawmakers to move toward raising FCC fines for indecency and subjecting performers to fines. “Most Americans don’t differentiate between over-the-air and cable or satellite. I think we're approaching the time when whatever we apply to the broadcasters, in some way, voluntarily or involuntarily, is going to be applied to cable, and I know that causes some of you folks heartburn, and I think it should,” Barton said: “It’s an issue whose time is coming.” He added he was working with NCTA and ACA and such rules would come relatively soon, though not immediately.

That idea didn’t sit well the ACA cable operators, who said later that they didn’t have any say in what programmers produce and were concerned about bearing the brunt of any violations. “Clearly something is going to happen, but it depends on how it’s applied,” said David Kinley of Kinley & Assoc., which owns a cable system in Pleasanton, Cal. “Are we going to be held responsible for things which we have no control over?” On an earlier panel, Andrew Halataei, legislative dir. for Rep. Forbes (R-Va.), told the ACA he didn’t think indecency fines could be instituted against cable, because of constitutional concerns. Halataei noted that cable is a paid subscription service, while over-the-air broadcasting is free, and said that distinction has First Amendment implications.

The NCTA has repeatedly made that argument, and an NCTA spokesman said the cable industry, in response to indecency concerns, has launched a consumer education and awareness campaign to “help families understand how to make responsible television viewing decisions.” He said the top cable companies also have committed to providing channel blocking technology to consumers who request it, free of charge, to block certain content from coming into their homes.

ACA, meanwhile, has complained that bundling and tying arrangements by major program producers like Disney/ABC mean many operators are forced to carry programming their subscribers don’t want and at prices that are too high.

Ansley Davis, an aide to Rep. Deal (R-Ga.), said his boss was withdrawing an amendment he offered for the re- authorization of the Satellite Home Improvement Viewer Act that would have let cable operators turn down bundling and tying arrangements. Davis said her boss had to withdraw the amendment because of concerns about germaneness to the satellite bill. Davis said the issue could well be part of the review of the Telecom Act, planned of Congress’ next session, and there would likely be hearings on the a la carte issue. Deal, who also was involved with the letter to the FCC, was praised by many members of the ACA as the first lawmaker who had a full understanding of the plight of small and rural cable operators. Davis also said her boss “wasn’t buying the blocking argument” made by NCTA, and Deal wasn’t trying to hold the cable operators responsible for indecent programming.

Barton said he didn’t see a lot of support for Deal’s a la carte idea now, but lawmakers wanted to explore the idea. He said the letter to the FCC included a list of questions for the agency about the technological feasibility of a la carte. The NCTA spokesman noted that the GAO had issued a report that found a la carte pricing could lead to fewer channels at higher cost to consumers. “The economic facts have not changed since the GAO has issued its comprehensive study. We believe that an FCC study would further confirm that a la carte pricing would be very harmful to ad-supported cable networks and consumers,” the NCTA spokesman said.