Commissioners Considering Adelstein, Martin Small Cable Exemption Plans
FCC commissioners are considering expanding exemptions to low-capacity cable systems for the versions of broadcast programming they need not distribute after the Feb. 17 analog cutoff (CD April 30 p4), agency and industry officials said. Under consideration are a May 6 revision to a Media Bureau order from Chairman Kevin Martin and a proposal from Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, they said. But a vote may not occur soon because commissioners deem the exemptions to be complex, they said. No FCC member besides Martin has voted on the order, first circulated April 9, said agency officials.
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Martin’s revision would let systems under 553 MHz meet viewability rules by carrying only an analog version of digital signals of a TV station guaranteed cable carriage, the officials said. The revision, expected by commissioners (CD May 7 p4), amounts to one paragraph, they said. An earlier draft of the order exempted only must-carry stations’ high-definition signals, but the revision also applies to standard definition signals, they said. Operators would have to ensure that all customers could view the analog must-carry signal, they said. An FCC spokesman declined to comment.
Also under review on the FCC’s top floor is a proposal by Adelstein to excuse all systems serving fewer than 5,000 subscribers from having to distribute digital must-carry signals in digital, agency officials said. Charter, Mediacom, Suddenlink and NCTA had sought such an exemption. Commissioner Michael Copps said commissioners are considering what subscriber threshold, if any, to include in the final order. Members are trying to figure out “what’s the right number,” and that could take time, he said Monday on the sidelines of the NCTA show.
Commissioners also are considering whether to further expand the order to all analog-only systems, said an agency official. NCTA and others had sought such an exemption, which would apply to analog-only systems regardless of capacity or subscriber numbers, and commissioners are considering that request, the official said. NCTA sought “quick” action, in a May 6 meeting with Office of Strategic Planning Chief Catherine Bohigian, said an ex parte. The American Cable Association, representing small operators, wants the FCC to resolve the issue as soon as possible, Vice President Ross Lieberman said in an interview. NCTA officials didn’t return messages to comment right away. Commissioners hope to soon sort through the issue’s complexities and vote, said an FCC official.