Small Operators See Relief

Small cable operators could be just days away from scoring a major political victory at the Federal Communications Commission concerning the carriage of local TV stations' digital signals. With FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's support, the agency appears close to exempting a whole class of small MSOs from burdensome must-carry rules after broadcasters go all-digital on Feb. 17, 2009. According to FCC and industry sources, the new rules would provide relief for all cable systems, regardless of channel capacity, that have 2,500 subscribers or fewer and are not owned by Comcast or Time Warner. All cable systems at 552-Megahertz of capacity or less would be covered, with no limitation on ownership or number of subscribers. The new rules could be adopted at the FCC's Aug. 22 monthly open meeting, if not sooner.