Democrats In Charge, but Not Threatening to Cable

DEMOCRATS IN CHARGE, BUT NOT THREATENING
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
If anything bad happens to the cable industry as a result of the Democratic takeover of Congress, it shouldn't happen very fast. because House and Senate Democrats have made the issues that drove voters to the polls their legislative agenda to start 2007, it’s highly unlikely that incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has plans to move telecommunications policy to the forefront of the new Congress. “I would just note that this election was not about telecom,” Stifel Nicolaus telecom analyst Blair Levin said. For the time being, Levin expects a benign environment for cable on such matters as franchise reform, network neutrality, and any mandate, to sell cable channels one at a time to viewers, known as a la carte pricing. “I don't believe that Congress is likely to pass a big, comprehensive bill,” Levin said. Jessica Zufolo, who tracks telecom policy at Medley Global Advisors, said telecom legislation won't be foremost on Democrats’ minds. “Telecom is not going to be a big focus in the next two years,” Zufolo said.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6390451.html?display=Top+Stories