FCC's Martin Pledges to Keep Voice/Video Playing Field Even

FCC'S MARTIN PLEDGES TO KEEP VOICE/VIDEO FIELD EVEN
[SOURCE: MediaWeek, AUTHOR: Anthony Crupi]
Monday afternoon's opening session of the 2007 National Cable & Telecommunications Association's annual Cable Show confab in Las Vegas kicked off with a brief address from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who is less than revered in cable circles, given his perceived hostility toward the industry. And while he wasn't greeted with an overwhelming applause, Martin didn't draw any caws from the boo birds, either. Chairman Martin, who has been aggressive in his regulation of digital cable services, is widely seen as a powerful antagonist to cable's ambitions to maintain its relative stranglehold over the broadband space. He’s also a supporter of the wildly unpopular a la carte pricing plan ­­ all of which makes him something of a pariah in the estimation of the cable crowd. Starting his address with a quick read of some of the trade press’ more strident coverage from the past few weeks, Chairman Martin said that he wanted “to set the record straight,” counting off a litany of instances in which he as FCC chairman had actually supported cable.
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=10035...

* Text of Chairman Martin's remarks:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-272897A1.doc

* FCC's Martin Supports a la Carte
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=12012
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* Martin Defends Record at Vegas Cable Confab
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6439937.html