FCC Seeks Comment on Commercial Leased Access Rules

FCC SEEKS COMMENT ON COMMERCIAL LEASED ACCESS RULES
[SOURCE: Federal Communications Commission]
Adopted March 2, but just released Friday is a new FCC proceeding on leased access and program carriage rules which require a cable operator to set aside channel capacity for commercial use by video programmers unaffiliated with the operator. The FCC is seeking public comment on the following: The current status of leased access programming. Do programmers actually use leased access channels? To what extent are they able to use the set-aside channels? How many leased access channels do cable operators provide? Which programmers are using those channels? Are programmers using the channels on a full-time or part-time basis? For what purposes are leased access channels used? Do cable operators turn down requests for leased access? If so, why? To what extent and for what purposes do the cable operators use the channels for themselves? Does the cable operators' option to use the channels contribute to programmers' lack of use of the set-aside channels? Are the terms in leased access agreements the same or similar to those that the cable operator has with its programmers? Do cable operators impose different requirements regarding, for example, insurance or termination provisions? If so, why? We also seek comment on the effectiveness of leased access enforcement. We seek comment specifically on the costs associated with the complaint or other dispute resolution processes, as well as whether there should be a defined time period for cable operators to respond to leased access requests or other aspects of the enforcement process. The Commission's rules allow programmers to file complaints to challenge a cable operator's rates before the Commission. To what extent do programmers make use of this provision to challenge rates that they believe violate the Commission's regulations? Is the process too burdensome? Is it effective? Should there be changes to the complaint process, such as an expedited complaint process before the Commission? The Commission's rules also require a cable operator to respond to a programmer's request for rate information within 15 calendar days. Are cable operators responsive to programmer's requests? When they respond, do they include all required information?
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-18A1.doc

* FCC Commissioner Copps:
"This rulemaking is about independent programming and ensuring that independent programmers have a fair shot at carriage on cable and other multi-channel distribution platforms.... We must meet these statutory directives, not only because it's our duty, but because these independent programmers provide the diversity of voices that is so central to the proper functioning of our media and, ultimately, to our democracy itself. If our rules aren't giving independent programmers the carriage opportunities to which they're entitled, we'd better fix them -- and fast."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-18A2.doc

* FCC Commissioner Adelstein:
"Commission rules and practices have made it prohibitively expensive and unnecessarily burdensome for most independent programmers to obtain and maintain leased access."
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-18A3.doc