Small Ops Told: Head to D.C.

SMALL OPS TOLD: HEAD TO DC
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Linda Moss]
Small cable operators, facing one of the most “hostile” environments in more than a decade at the Federal Communications Commission, need to get active and plead their case in Washington, lobbyists told a conference of small cable companies Monday. During a panel at The Independent Show here, the American Cable Association and one of its lawyers basically warned its members -- which serve 10 million subscribers -- that there will be no help coming from the FCC on hot-button issues such as retransmission consent and digital-multicast must-carry under the watch of Chairman Kevin Martin. Therefore, it is “paramount” that small cable companies step up their grassroots efforts and “out-local” their broadcast rivals by taking their case directly to their representatives in Washington, according to ACA president Matt Polka.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6358026.html?display=Breaking+News