FCC’s DTV Quiet Period Impasse Continues
An impasse continues over two FCC items on barring broadcasters from pulling their signals from cable operators and other pay-TV companies in the lead-up to the DTV transition, agency and industry officials said. Not all the commissioners have voted on an order forbidding for a brief time signals from being pulled over contract disputes, or on a rulemaking notice (CD Oct 2 p3) on whether the commission has authority to impose the so- called quiet period, they said. That leaves in limbo cable and satellite-TV companies’ hopes of getting action on a quiet period, which they have said they need to avoid consumer confusion about the digital transition.
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Chairman Kevin Martin is the only FCC member who seems to support an order setting what he publicly described as a narrow period, around the time of the switch to digital, when signals couldn’t be pulled, agency and industry officials said. A proposed order was circulated in August, though parts of it have since been split off and voted on, FCC officials said. That may make the original order moot and it may no longer be considered to be on circulation, they said. It’s unclear whether Martin was speaking about his support for the August order. An FCC spokeswoman declined to comment.
Martin told reporters Monday that he hoped his colleagues will vote for a quiet period order over a notice. He said he supports imposing a brief quiet period starting in January. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein proposed a Dec. 15 start as a revision to the August draft order, but Martin didn’t support it, a communications lawyer said.
A notice seeking comment on whether the agency can impose a quiet period lacks Martin’s vote but has been approved by the other commissioners, FCC and industry officials said. Once Martin votes, the notice can be issued. He said Monday that he thinks the commission may eventually issue the notice. But if Martin holds off much longer, time will be short for him to circulate before year-end -- when many deals expire -- an order setting a quiet period after comments are received on the notice, a communications lawyer said.
Small cable operators seeking a quiet period drew comfort from Martin’s expectation of release a notice on the subject. “The date of the DTV transition is rapidly approaching and every precaution must be taken to ensure its success,” said a written statement from Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, representing small operators. “It is encouraging that Chairman Martin continues to recognize how important a quiet period is to the success of the transition, and that he is committed to issuing a rulemaking notice to solicit comments from interested parties.”
Whether the commission issues an order or a notice, the cable group is most concerned that the quiet period start no later than Dec. 31, Ross Lieberman, the vice president of government affairs, told us. “So long as the NTIA is not overwhelmed by confused cable subscribers requesting coupons because of a lost broadcast station, it doesn’t matter what administrative process the FCC chooses.” A spokesman for the NCTA, another supporter of starting the period by Dec. 31, declined to comment.
The NAB thinks the FCC should issue no rules, a spokesman said. Owners of more than 1,000 TV stations have agreed not to pull their signals from pay-TV providers Feb. 4 to April 1, he added. That “good faith pledge would benefit viewers, he said.