Martin Expands Small Cable HD Exemption to Cover More Signals
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin asked the Media Bureau to expand a carriage exemption (CD April 30 p4) so small cable operators only have to distribute must-carry broadcasters’ signals in analog after the DTV transition, commission officials said. The bureau is working on changes in an order first circulated April 9, three officials said. Martin sought the changes after commissioners privately questioned whether the first draft adequately relieved systems smaller than 553 MHz of an obligation to carry signals of broadcasters guaranteed cable carriage in both analog and digital after the Feb. 17, 2009, analog cutoff, they said.
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The new order will allow the small systems to carry only the broadcasters’ analog signals, two commission officials said. The current draft would exempt only the must-carry stations’ high-definition broadcasts, they said. Cable executives have said that didn’t go far enough and sought an exemption for all analog signals. The bureau’s changes may relieve the concerns, an industry lawyer said. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment.
Other commissioners didn’t formally propose changes to Martin. But in recent weeks, they expressed concerns that small systems would face high costs without the expanded exemption, three officials said. It’s not clear whether the revised order will exempt systems with fewer than 5,000 subscribers, as sought by NCTA, Charter, Mediacom and Suddenlink.
The revised order will require operators to send must- carry signals to all subscribers, whether those customers get analog or digital cable, an FCC source said. That would ensure that the operators meet FCC viewability rules, the source said.