Proposals supported by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin would hurt minor...

to get guaranteed cable carriage by leasing digital spectrum from broadcasters. “This appears to be the ‘consolation’ prize for all the other efforts by the FCC to undermine minority programmers,” he wrote. Expanding broadcasters’ “must carry” rights would hurt SiTV and TV One, he said. Executives of those cable channels opposed expanded must- carry rules and leased access in letters this week to the House and Senate Commerce committees (CD Oct 17 p18). Flowers joined SiTV and TV One in opposing cable a la carte, a Martin priority. “The civil rights community is so unanimous on this question that it seems that it no longer an even debatable proposition,” Flowers said, adding that Martin “has been, in our judgement, fairly criticized for promoting this very unpopular idea.” Flowers wrote commissioners because of a long interest in a la carte and its potential pitfalls for minorities, he said in an interview. Flowers wouldn’t say whether anyone from the cable industry asked him to chime in. Under an a la carte system, cable subscribers might skip minority- oriented cable channels, he said. Bundling ensures that channel surfing viewers watch such programming, said Flowers. Martin told an Oct. 14 Rainbow/PUSH conference that leased access and a la carte would help minorities. Rainbow/PUSH belongs to the Black Leadership Forum, as do the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP and others.