Raising Their Voices
At 15, ACA Fights On For Independent Operators
by Craig Kuhl -- Multichannel News, 4/6/2008 8:00:00 PM
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ACA Through the Years |
In May 1993, more than 150 independent cable operators from around the country assembled in Kansas City to craft a response to the government’s recent reregulation ruling in what was to become known as the 1992 Cable Act.
Little did the group of small operators know at the time that they were breaking new ground in what would eventually become an organized and strategically focused voice representing independent cable operators and their growing interests in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, the American Cable Association, which began as the Small Cable Business Association, is considered the leading activist organization for small and independent cable operators. This week, it will hold its annual summit in Washington, D.C., on April 8 and 9.
During its 15-year history, the ACA has been the voice of the independent cable operator community on issues ranging from retransmission consent and must-carry rules to spiraling programming costs.
Yet for the ACA and its original membership roster of volunteers who gathered in Kansas City, the road to representation and change hasn’t exactly been a smooth one, especially in the earliest days.
“We had been petitioning the FCC through the mail or small 'coalitions’ but we decided that the independent cable owners had to join forces. The need was urgent and time was running out,” recalled Stan Searle, an ACA founding member and one of the key advocates early on for the organization.
And timing counted, Searle said. “After a day of dissecting the issues and sharing possible survival strategies, a second meeting was convened for the purpose of forming a trade association. That’s when the SCBA, later the ACA, was established. With unity, camaraderie and a distinct sense of mission. And with Dave Kinley as our first chairman.”
Since that day, Searle added, the association “has really lived up to the organization’s charter of being the voice of independent cable.”
It was a voice that wasn’t necessarily being heard in Washington.
“When we didn’t have representation in Washington, we saw what happened [the 1992 Cable Act]. And it was scary,” said Ben Hooks, the ACA’s second chairman and a small independent cable operator.
It was also a call-to-arms for independent operators. “Hundreds of independent operators stopped what they were doing and went to Washington,” Hooks said. “It really was about survival and was totally voluntary. But we knew it was imperative that we didn’t let this organization go away, and that it was really our only true spokesperson.”
One key reason for the ACA’s increasing value, Hooks said, was its total lack of programming ownership positions. “Our members have no ownership positions in programming, which gives us more flexibility to speak to issues like programming,” he said. “ACA’s mission will change to a degree with the nature of companies, but the mission was built on the issues of smaller operators, and still is.”
Some of those issues, most notably retransmission consent, remain contentious. But from the get-go, the ACA realized its impact on the independent cable community and that it could realistically make a difference.
“When we met in Kansas City in ’93, we were angry and desperate to do something. The resolve began right there to advocate for the industry,” said Matt Polka, president and CEO of the ACA, and its first employee.
“We were reacting to the 1992 Cable Act, which literally could have put smaller operators out of business, and been their death knell,” he added.
The SCBA was intent on not letting that happen. Yet reality soon set in, which meant the active representation of a traditionally underserved group of cable operators. “First, we had to go to Washington and let them know we existed, and what the acts and regulations were doing, unintentionally, to our business and consumers. Our first goal was to differentiate ourselves from the rhetoric of the business. The second was education and third was activism, which meant bringing our members to Washington to make a difference. It took fours years, but led to the passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, and some relief,” Polka said.
It also led to the validation of the ACA as the independent operators’ strongest voice in Washington, and nationwide.
“The same principles from that first meeting, with one company and one vote, works as effectively today as then,” he added.
Yet for the SCBA, and later the ACA, it wasn’t always a smooth functioning operation. In fact, in many cases it was driven by a seat-of-the-pants mentality. “Let’s face it, we weren’t exactly a well-oiled machine,” laughed Polka. “It was a volunteer organization, and there was a whole other group of small operators that needed to be connected to us, and that was a challenge. But we were coming together with unique concerns that had to be addressed. We were dedicated to telling the truth and telling our side.”
A whole other side of the organization was to appear following the passage of the ’96 Telecommunications Act, Polka said. And it would allow the organization to focus on current issues that eventually would confront the independent operators.
“After the ’96 Telecommunications Act, we could put more focus on retransmission consent reform, programming reforms and the disparity between small and large cable operators and the disproportionate effects they have on smaller operators and their customers. It also began to show that we had longevity, and the guts and determination to stick around,” Polka said.
“There was a lesson learned with the 1992 Cable Act that if winds are blowing towards regulation, and they’re not addressed, and if people aren’t engaged in making sure they are only moderate regulations, the government will act in the least favorable way possible,” said Patrick Knorr, the ACA’s current chairman.
And that lesson, Knorr added, is being applied today. “Today, there’s a junction point that is very much reminiscent of the pre-Cable Act days. And it includes sports programming costs, ownership issues and retransmission consent, which had its seeds planted before the ’92 Cable Act.”
This time around, though, the ACA and independent operators are better equipped to handle those issues. Added Knorr: “We’re going to be engaged and fix some of the things that were broken, with retransmission consent falling heaviest on small operators. And we’re addressing the business model.”
Of course, there are other issues as well, said RCB Daniels vice president Pat Thompson, a long-time advocate of small operators, including a position as ACA associate board member in 1998.
“Getting Washington to understand that ACA members’ needs are different than the larger companies and that one size doesn’t fit all is a challenge facing the organization. And retransmission consent is actually affecting us worse in 2008 that in 1992. But the smaller independent operators are well represented now by the ACA, and it has gained respect and credibility in Washington. I honestly believe that without ACA, the majority of small operators would be gone,” Thompson said.
Yet most are still here, thanks to the ACA and its 15 years of “blood and guts survival tactics,” according to Hooks.
“It was a pretty gutsy group from the start, and the odds were against us even surviving. We would have member dues increases just to pay the bills at ACA. We were a bunch of pretty feisty guys,” Hooks said. “It’s amazing to think an organization like that could have evolved into the well-respected organization it is today, and the clear voice it has become for the smaller operators.”
Said Searle: “A key to our early effectiveness was strong leadership. These guys and a lot of other unselfish, hard working members have led annual delegations to Capitol Hill that are unprecedented in the history of the cable business. And the ACA is the last strong advocate for the fair treatment of small cable companies and their customers.”
And the organization, Polka added, is here to stay. “We’ve seen first hand how resilient these companies are, and we’re very proud of that. We’ve worked hard amidst the titans in Washington and established a voice for the small independent operator. It’s an organization determined to succeed.”
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