Martin Moving To Support 'Must Carry'

Will cable operators have to carry the multiple channels that broadcasters transmit on their digital television frequencies? As the question looms over the DTV debate, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has taken steps to support the idea. Under Chairman Martin, the only one of five commissioners to dissent in February when the agency chaired by Michael Powell denied a "must-carry" requirement, the FCC in recent weeks has issued two reports favoring broadcasters in their disputes with the cable and satellite industries over the issue. The first of the two FCC reports was issued Aug. 23, when the FCC said the satellite companies DirecTV and EchoStar Communications must carry all of the multicast digital channels that broadcasters transmit in Alaska and Hawaii. The agency also ruled that satellite companies must carry their high-definition programs. In a second order relating to the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act, issued Sept. 8, the FCC was required to consider the impact of retransmission consent rules on video competition. On this matter, the FCC said, "If broadcasters are limited in their ability to accept in-kind compensation, they should be granted full carriage rights for their digital broadcast signals, including all free over-the-air digital multicast streams." Despite the reports, Martin can do little to affect the issue at the FCC, as the debate about multicast carriage has become one of the hardest-fought, behind-the-scenes battles in the DTV transition on Capitol Hill. Broadcasters have been pushing for the requirement in exchange for accepting a "hard date" for losing their analog spectrum.