NAB, Cable at Odds Over Leased Access Court Precedent
Broadcast and cable interests disagree whether FCC leased access rules are on constitutionally shaky grounds. Despite NCTA arguments, the Supreme Court's recent National Institute of Family & Life Advocates and Reed decisions clearly don't support cable claims of leased access…
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rules being content based, NAB said in a docket 17-105 posting Thursday. It said MVPDs still have a big market share in many designated market areas, and courts have cited such as a reason for sustaining program access and programming discrimination provisions against First Amendment challenges. NAB was responding to an NCTA posting on a meeting it, Comcast, Charter and Cox had with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and the regular commissioners and Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey. The cablers said they had "strong support" for the leased access draft order on July's agenda (see 2006250062) and its finding the constitutional foundation for the leased access rules being "in substantial doubt." They said that finding is not only the FCC's but also court precedent.