MMTC Wants Ad Nondiscrimination Rule To Apply To Cable

The Minority Media & Telecommunications Council wants the Federal Communications Commission to extend its broadcast advertising nondiscrimination rule to cable, satellite and telcos as well. In a filing Monday, the group asked the FCC to launch a rulemaking to "ensure an equal footing for a services in the fight against advertising discrimination." In its March 5, 2009, order adopting a dozen initiatives to boost minority media, the FCC required broadcasters to certify their ad contracts do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender. Minority media had long complained of so-called "no urban" and "no Spanish" dictates in ad contracts that effectively excluded a large swath of minority-targeted media.