Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged the FCC not to let...
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., urged the FCC not to let the commission’s program access rules expire, in a letter sent Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnsgp7). A draft order that circulated last month indicated the FCC will allow its ban on exclusive contracts among…
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vertically integrated cable programmers to sunset on Friday (CD Sept 17 p2). But Markey said letting the rules sunset could “lead to a new dawn of less choice and higher prices for consumers.” Markey said the rules “remain a foundation for competition, and conditions in today’s video marketplace necessitate their continuance. If we do not extend the program access rules, the largest cable companies could withhold popular sports and entertainment programming from their competitors, reducing the competition and choice that has benefited consumers.” Markey was an author of the 1992 Cable Act which first created the program access rules. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and DirecTV declined to comment on the letter. NCTA would not comment on Markey’s letter but said the commission should reject any proposals to renew the ban on exclusive contracts among vertically integrated cable programmers, in an FCC ex parte filing Wednesday. “The ban no longer remains necessary to preserve and protect competition and diversity in what has become a robustly competitive and diverse video marketplace -- especially where case by case adjudication of complaints under the general provisions of Section 628(b) remains available,” the filing said. The Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance echoed Markey’s concerns in a separate letter and urged the commission to extend the exclusive contract prohibition of the program access rules for an additional five years. A group of telecom companies called the Coalition for Competitive Access to Content (CA2C) said it agreed with Markey and urged the FCC to extend the program access rules, in a separate letter. “Absent the rule, cable operators could withhold essential must-have programming that they own from their competitors, including some of the most popular national programming networks, as well as crucial regional sports networks,” the letter said. CA2C members include: American Cable Association, AT&T, CenturyLink, Consolidated Communications, Dish Network, DirecTV, Eastern Rural Telecom Association, Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies, USTelecom, Verizon, and Western Telecommunications Alliance.