Draft FCC Order Would Allow Some Video-Apartment Exclusives
A draft order would allow deals giving some subscription-video providers exclusives to serve entire apartment buildings and other multiple-dwelling-unit complexes, FCC officials said. The Media Bureau item would allow multiple-dwelling units (MDUs) to make exclusive deals with private cable operators -- companies that aren’t owned by major cable operators and that often serve apartments -- and direct broadcast satellite providers, they said. Under the draft, circulated Dec. 23, other pay-TV sellers could enter into more limited exclusive arrangements with apartment and other residential buildings, they said.
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The item deals with a further notice in a 2008 commission order (CD March 28/08 p1) banning exclusives for cable operators to provide TV to MDUs, commission officials said. That order withstood a court challenge by cable companies. The draft order would essentially maintain the status quo on the kinds of arrangements that the regulator asked about in the further notice, FCC officials said. The draft points to a lack of evidence in the record that additional rules are needed and said it’s questionable that the commission has the power to ban some types of deals, they said. A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.
The draft would allow bulk-billing and preferential- billing agreements between a building and any kind of pay-TV provider, commission officials said. MDU owners could contract with pay-TV companies to advertise their services in lobbies and elsewhere. The National Multi Housing Council still believes its members should be allowed to sign the marketing and billing deals, as well as building-wide service exclusives, with any type of video provider, said Vice President Betsy Feigin Befus.
“Whether it makes sense or not for the residents or owner depends on the particular market and the building and the resident needs,” Feigin Befus said. “Our position has been that the FCC is not as well positioned to decide in the sweeping, blanket type of a way whether these things are inherently bad or anti-consumer or anti competitive” as those directly affected. DirecTV believes “these agreements between DBS and MDU buildings are beneficial to consumers and help increase competition in the overall market,” Vice President Stacy Fuller said. The company is “happy that the FCC reportedly is recognizing this as well,” she said. Executives of Dish Network, NCTA, Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Association and USTelecom declined to comment.
No ex parte meetings and little discussion among the commissioners and their aides have taken place about the draft order, which hasn’t yet been voted on, commission officials said. That may not change for some time, as the regulator and industry focus on the program access order scheduled for a vote at the Jan. 20 FCC meeting, they said. After that, the office of Chairman Julius Genachowski may ask FCC members to decide on a rural radio order as the next media item to get a vote, a commission official said. A draft order to give Native-American tribes priority in seeking new stations (CD Dec 29 p2) hasn’t been the subject of extensive discussions among the commissioners, and changes haven’t been proposed, FCC officials said. It isn’t expected to be contentious at the commission, and it doesn’t deal with moves by rural radio stations into suburbs and cities, they said.