C-SPAN Asks Supreme Court to Overturn Must-Carry Rules

C-SPAN is joining Cablevision in asking the Supreme Court to overturn the must-carry rules, which require cable operators to carry local TV stations that elect not to negotiate carriage.

"Amid today's expanding marketplace of program delivery options, must-carry is a relic of the past that should be clicked and dragged to the recycle bin of regulatory overkill," said C-SPAN VP and General Counsel Bruce Collins in announcing the move. The cable public affairs channel, which must compete with those TV stations for channel space, has long argued that the fact that broadcasters have a guaranteed carriage right while channels like C-SPAN have to compete for what space is left violates the First Amendment. C-SPAN argues that its case now is even stronger with a more competitive marketplace for TV station fare. C-SPAN argued in earlier challenges that A/B switches that allow cable or satellite subs to switch to over-the-air reception were a less infringing way to preserve access to broadcast stations.

The Supreme Court, in the second Turner challenge to the rules in 1997 (it's first was in 1994), said that the switch was not a feasible alternative, echoing Congress in adopting the 1992 rules. But C-SPAN says that today, the switch is built into TVs and can be "easily" controlled from a remote.