AOL Time Warner told FCC that recent decision by U.S. Appeals Cou...
AOL Time Warner told FCC that recent decision by U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., in Fox v. FCC required Commission to presume that cable program access rules should sunset in Oct.: “Congress intended for the restrictions on exclusive programming arrangements…
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to sunset absent solid proof of their ‘necessity’ to preserve and protect competition and diversity.” Comments came from AOL TW lawyer Arthur Harding in letter to Commission earlier this month. Harding said D.C. Circuit’s findings “created an affirmative obligation on the Commission to justify retention” of national TV ownership cap and cable-TV broadcast cross-ownership restrictions. Harding said sunset of rules should be prevailing presumption and burden of proof rested with those advocating retention. FCC is weighing whether to allow rules against exclusive programming contracts for vertically integrated cable programmers to expire. Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America, in ex parte filing following day, touched on issue. They told Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree and other FCC officials that cable industry’s denials of monopsony leverage over programming “always rely on erroneous assertions about competition from satellite at the point of sale.” CU contended satellite wasn’t yet truly competitive with cable. NCTA told FCC that Congress never intended 1992 exclusivity ban to be lifetime guarantee of access and that it was “a relic of a bygone chapter” in cable regulation history.