Must-Carry Question Still Open

STATIONS, CABLE 'DUAL' OVER CARRIAGE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Broadcasters and cable operators have been crossing swords at the FCC over the issue of what cable operators' TV signal carriage obligations will be after the digital transition in February 2009. The cable industry says an FCC proposal being floated by the chairman and scheduled for a vote this week would give a new, and troubling, meaning to cable's vaunted “triple play.” Cable operators complain that under the chairman's plan, they would be required to carry up to three versions of the same TV station signal after the DTV transition -- analog, digital and high definition -- which would suck up precious bandwidth and perhaps elbow out networks like C-SPAN and the Weather Channel. Time Warner lawyers said this was unnecessary, unlawful and a disservice to customers. Broadcasters argue the same proposal is ensuring that no cable customer with an analog set lose access to TV service, just as the government is trying to ensure no over-the-air viewers are left behind after the transition.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6476847.html

MUST-CARRY QUESTION STILL OPEN
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Even though cable and broadcasters have been warring over must-carry rules for decades, one question remains unanswered: How many TV stations actually rely on the cable carriage mandate in effect since 1992? Finding the answer isn't as easy as it might seem. The backdrop for the inquiry is FCC chairman Kevin Martin’s effort to come up with new ways of forcing cable carriage of local TV-station content, including de facto dual carriage, multicast must-carry, or both. Granting must-carry rights to certain, undefined entities that lease excess digital spectrum from TV stations is another part of Martin’s forced-carriage idea. But Chairman Martin is pushing his must-carry agenda in somewhat of a policy vacuum, because his agency doesn't require its TV-station licensees to disclose whether they bargain for cable carriage or demand it.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6476827.html