Approving vertically-integrated Comcast-NBCUniversal’s proposed purchase of Time Warner...
Approving vertically-integrated Comcast-NBCUniversal’s proposed purchase of Time Warner Cable, without modifying program access rules for buying groups, could harm “consumers and the competitive pay-TV market,” said the CEOs of 53 multichannel video programming distributors in a letter to FCC Chairman…
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Tom Wheeler Tuesday. The companies want the FCC to change its definition of a buying group to include the National Cable Television Cooperative, the group through which most small and mid-size MVPDs purchase their content. NCTC doesn’t meet the commission’s definition because the commission requires buying groups to be liable for the contracts of all of members, something NCTC doesn’t do, and the American Cable Association has sought such a change (CD Jan 14 p7). Because NCTC doesn’t fit the definition of a buying group, program access rules preventing MVPDs that are also programmers from discriminating against buying groups don’t apply, said the letter. “Because NCTC has no means of utilizing the program access rules for redress against discrimination, our companies, and all other NCTC members, have essentially no protection from cable-affiliated programmers, in stark disregard of Congress’ intent.” Companies that signed the letter include Atlantic Broadband, Buckeye Cable Systems, Cincinnati Bell, Frontier Communications -- for which current executive vice president and former Republican FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy signed -- RCN, TDS and Wide Open West.