FCC's Martin Digging for Legal Leverage

[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin not only thinks that cable systems should sell programming by the channel in a menu of a la carte choices -- he’s also looking for legal grounds that could force the issue. FCC staff are now looking into whether existing law provides any opening that could compel cable systems to adopt some form of a la carte pricing. The staff is focused on a provision of the 1984 Cable Act that gives the agency discretion to “promulgate any additional rules that may be necessary to promote diversity of information sources.” The FCC’s authority to adopt rules is tied to the penetration of high-capacity cable systems -- specifically, when operators with 36 or more channels pass 70% of U.S. households, and 70% of households passed by those systems are subscribers. “If you hit 70/70, other options become available,” a Martin aide suggested. Before Christmas, the FCC is expected to reveal in its annual video-competition report whether the 70/70 test has been met.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6288742.html?display=Breaking+News
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