Cable firm marketing of family tiers varies as widely as availability of the stripped down programming packages meant to soothe legislative and FCC concern about indecency, our survey of the industry found. Time Warner Cable, offering it to a greater portion of subscribers than any peer (CD May 24 p8), is the most energetic in touting the tier. Comcast and Cox, whose efforts are more limited, do less to publicize their packages.

FCC Chmn. Martin’s multicast must-carry plan (CD May 31 p2) may renew a push for DBS rules requiring provision of digital broadcasts to all subscribers where local stations are carried, industry sources said. Satellite providers fear broadcasters may try to use the proposed rulemaking to ask the FCC to require that satellite transmit their digital signals. Such rules apply to DBS only in Alaska and Hawaii (CD Aug 25 p1). It’s not clear if the rulemaking would include DBS must-carry provisions. An FCC spokesman declined to comment.

FCC Chmn. Martin is circulating a broad media ownership item on the 8th floor that seeks to loosen restrictions, sources said. They said it probably includes lifting a ban on newspaper and TV station cross-ownership and easing cable attribution limits. Such action had been expected after Comr. McDowell starts his job (CD April 6 p9), as he is set to do within days. Martin’s aim is to get a vote on the notice of proposed rulemaking at the June 15 agenda meeting, the sources said.

FCC Chmn. Martin is circulating an order on the 8th floor to mandate multicast must-carry that could be placed on the open meeting agenda as soon as next month, said sources. The order would reverse a previous Commission vote (CD Feb 11/05 p1) that said cable operators don’t need to carry all of broadcasters’ DTV streams beyond the primary one, according to a partial draft provided to us late Tues.

Radio broadcasters don’t want to be linked publicly to efforts to fight payola by a group of independent music labels that has devised standards to fight the practice, said Don Rose, acting pres.-American Assn. of Independent Music. The group hopes to unveil guidelines within a week to improve transparency of music labels and radio station ties, he told us. N.Y. Attorney Gen. Eliot Spitzer has backed the attempt by more than 100 independent music labels to get broadcasters to agree on standards (CD April 21 p2). Some broadcast officials have been “supportive” of the guidelines, Rose said: “Many of them have been invited, but there’s such a climate of caution surrounding any of the moves here, that we're trying to be sensitive to the particular circumstances of anybody who has offered to lend assistance.” Officials at CBS Radio, Clear Channel and Citadel didn’t return our calls. The group of smaller music labels will provide payola recommendations to the FCC once it gets backing from several more organizations such as unions, said Rose.

Sen. McCain’s (R-Ariz.) a la carte bill received only tepid support from colleagues after lawmakers were lobbied by religious groups against co-sponsoring the bill, said industry sources. The concern is that by encouraging cable and telcos to sell channels individually (CD May 10 p13), the bill would reduce availability of religious channels that consumers might not buy outside expanded basic cable packages, sources said. A video provider that agrees to sell channels separately could be awarded a national franchise without having to fully build out systems in its markets, according to a May 11 bill draft.

AT&T identified 10 cities it said are trying to slow IPTV rollout. Of the 10, 8 are in Ill., where AT&T filed several suits against towns it says refused AT&T buildout requests due to its lack of video franchises (CD April 10 p1). AT&T said franchises aren’t necessary, since IPTV isn’t a cable service. “Within the past few months, however, municipalities have begun to organize and implement concerted campaigns to block AT&T from maintaining or acquiring even the physical capacity of moving forward with Project Lightspeed,” said a Tues. AT&T FCC filing. Some municipal govt. groups told members to make AT&T get a franchise as a means of upgrading gear along rights of way, it said. Lodi, Cal., stopped granting permits after AT&T began network upgrades unless it agreed it would need a cable franchise, the firm said. Lodi followed state law mandating like regulation for cable firms, City Attorney Stephen Schwabauer told us: “Why aren’t they willing to compete on the same basis as the cable companies?” He said “AT&T does not want to do that, they want to cherry pick” customers. Walnut Creek, Cal., won’t provide access to rights of way unless AT&T follows cable rules, said the firm. AT&T’s assertion was disputed by Paul Valle-Riestra, senior assistant city attorney in Walnut Creek. “They can complete all of their construction without getting a franchise at any point along the way,” he told us: “We have issued every permit they have asked for.”

N.J. Gov. John Corzine (D) is expected to sign a video franchise bill. The Assembly Mon. passed 61-13 a bill backed by Verizon that would shift oversight from cities to the state. The Senate passed the bill last week (CD May 23 p6). “We're very optimistic,” a Verizon spokesman said. Corzine will “absolutely” sign, Medley Global Advisors’ Jessica Zufolo told us. Such video legislation would be a “mild negative for Cablevision, which serves New Jersey,” Stanford Washington Research Group’s Paul Gallant wrote. Corzine is abroad, said a staffer asked whether he would sign the bill.

The FCC must rely on documentation -- not rhetoric -- in considering telco arguments to remove municipalities from video franchise oversight, Comr. Copps said. He told a news briefing he'll rely on “the record” in the review and wants a further study of media ownership, which he linked to network neutrality. The FCC should provide Congress “options papers,” Copps said: “I want this Commission to be as active as it can be… teeing up options, especially for our friends in Congress.”

Family tiers -- touted by the industry as an answer to indecency concerns -- aren’t available in many parts of the U.S. because some companies haven’t completed rollouts of the product. Charter and some smaller companies said they don’t offer such packages of programming, which are devoid of racy fare and cost about $35 monthly.