FCC Set to Ask Whether It Should Extend Viewability Rules
A rulemaking notice circulated among FCC commissioners last month will seek comment on whether the commission should extend rules that require cable operators to deliver the signals of must-carry broadcast stations in both analog and digital formats, industry and FCC officials said. The rules, which the broadcast industry termed “viewability” and the cable industry “dual-carriage,” are set to expire in June, three years after the analog cutoff of 2009.
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Additionally, the notice seeks comment on whether the commission should extend an exemption enjoyed by smaller cable operators from rules requiring that they deliver a station’s digital signal in HD if they receive it in HD, industry and FCC officials said. Cable systems that have fewer than 2,500 subscribers or operate systems with less than 552 MHz capacity are exempt from the rule unless they're owned by a major cable operator. The notice tentatively concludes that the small operator exemption should be extended, they said. But the notice doesn’t go that far with regard to cable operators’ viewability obligations, they said. A Media Bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.
"I don’t know what the rationale would be for extending it at this point other than the broadcasters would want it,” a communications attorney said. Cable operators are increasingly giving away digital converter boxes and phasing out analog service in many cases, the attorney said. “There is still probably a small group of people [affected], but it’s an ever-diminishing group.”
The NCTA said it will review the item upon its release before taking a formal position. But the American Cable Association, which represents smaller cable operators, said the small-operator exemption is still needed. “The same circumstances that warranted special treatment for smaller systems and those with limited channel capacity still apply today,” said Ross Lieberman, vice president-government affairs at the American Cable Association. “ACA is hopeful that the commission will recognize that.” The NAB said it wouldn’t comment before seeing the item.