Free-Market Groups Fight Multicast Must Carry
Cable Operators May Forfeit Channel Capacity Without Compensation
By Ted Hearn -- Multichannel News, 10/22/2007 2:53:00 AM MT
Washington – Taking on the country’s top media regulatory, leading free-market organizations don’t want the federal government to expand the number of local broadcast TV signals that cable operators are forced to carry.
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, supports imposing the new requirements on cable, but such organizations as Americans For Tax Reform, the American Conservative Union, and the National Taxpayers Union argue that Martin’s plan would mean cable operators would need to forfeit channel capacity without compensation.
“To give broadcasters a free ride on cable operators’ private infrastructure would represent the worst sort of government mandate, and would fly in the face of the property rights protections found in the Constitution,” the groups said in an Oct. 19 letter to Martin and others in the FCC’s leadership.
Under a law upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, local TV stations that elect mandatory cable carriage are entitled to the distribution of a single programming service -- a right upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
With digital technology, each TV station can multicast up to three, four or five channels. For years, Martin, over cable’s strong opposition, has wanted the FCC to force cable systems to carry all multicast channels provided to over-the-air viewers for free. In a recent speech and House testimony, Martin reiterated his support for multicast must carry.
“A multicast must carry requirement could increase the amount of property seized from cable providers by six times or more, with no just compensation from broadcasters – a likely violation of the takings clause of the Constitution,” the free-market groups said.
Thirteen groups in all signed the Martin letter. Other signatories were the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Property Rights Alliance and Americans for Prosperity.
