McCain A La Carte Bill Stalls after Religious Groups’ Lobbying
Sen. McCain’s (R-Ariz.) a la carte bill received only tepid support from colleagues after lawmakers were lobbied by religious groups against co-sponsoring the bill, said industry sources. The concern is that by encouraging cable and telcos to sell channels individually (CD May 10 p13), the bill would reduce availability of religious channels that consumers might not buy outside expanded basic cable packages, sources said. A video provider that agrees to sell channels separately could be awarded a national franchise without having to fully build out systems in its markets, according to a May 11 bill draft.
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Groups including the Christian Coalition have worked to undermine the bill, sources said. “We are working with Senator McCain’s office on the bill,” a Christian Coalition spokeswoman said in response to an inquiry. She couldn’t elaborate. McCain’s pledge to introduce the bill on the Senate floor Thurs. (CD May 26 p17) didn’t pan out because he couldn’t get as many sponsors as he had hoped, said sources. Bipartisan support for the bill sought by McCain is lacking, said the people. A McCain spokeswoman didn’t return our calls.
Broadcasters are concerned about the bill, sources said. A controversial provision said TV stations affiliated with non-broadcast channels could lose network nonduplication rights if a cable network isn’t sold to an operator a la carte. Losing that protection would give cable operators increased leverage in carriage negotiations, hurting broadcasters, an industry source said.
The bill would cut maximum cable franchise fees 1/4, to 3.7%, calling it a “rights of way fee.” The current limit is 5%. “A local government may petition the [FCC] for, and the Commission may grant, a fee that exceeds 3.7 percent of gross video revenue to the extent that the local government demonstrates the higher fee is necessary,” the draft said.