Comcast CableCARD Petition Denial Backed by 3 Commissioners
At least three FCC commissioners have voted to deny a Comcast CableCARD request asking the full agency to rescind a Jan. 10 Media Bureau order refusing to waive the set-top box integration ban, agency officials said late Monday. The votes make it all but certain that Comcast will fail in its year-plus effort to keep deploying inexpensive boxes combining security and navigation features after the July 1 integration ban. Some analysts expect Comcast to sue the FCC once its denial of the petition is released (CD July 9 p1).
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Michael Copps was the most recent commissioner to vote against Comcast’s petition, said an agency official, adding that Commissioner Deborah Tate also has voted not to exempt Comcast from the integration ban. Comcast says the rule will cost it hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Chairman Kevin Martin voted in early June when he circulated an order to block Comcast’s petition on the 8th floor (CD June 11 p1). A final tally will come as early as this week, said an FCC official. On June 29, Broadcasting & Cable reported that a majority of commissioners approved Martin’s proposal, without saying which ones voted. Commissioners use an electronic system to place votes before they are tallied and the result unveiled.
Some commissioners initially sympathized with Comcast’s claim that the CableCARD rules will raise prices to consumers through higher set-top box rental rates. But in recent weeks some realized it would be difficult to block Martin’s order from proceeding, said an agency official. Other commissioners may acquiesce to Martin because they expect Comcast to go to court, where some believe it stands a good chance of winning, a source said.
Comcast seems to be laying the groundwork for a suit in federal appeals court. Last week, in a scathing letter to the commission, the company said the bureau had used “inconsistent and irreconcilable rationales” in giving waivers and deadline extensions to more than 130 video providers. “I would expect Comcast to appeal this thing given what they've been saying, given the arguments they've been making,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Kaut. In its July 3 letter to the FCC, Comcast noted that its waiver petition was filed with the commission more than 435 days before. The June 15 request was the first petition to escape CableCARD rules that the FCC received, another Comcast filing showed.