Q&A: Patrick Knorr, Chairman, ACA
by Craig Kuhl -- Multichannel News, 4/6/2008 8:00:00 PM
Patrick Knorr, general manager of Sunflower Broadband and chief operating officer of its parent The New World Company Corp., is chairman of the American Cable Association. Knorr recently spoke with Multichannel News contributor Craig Kuhl about issues currently facing the ACA and reflected on the organization’s 15-year anniversary. An edited transcript follows:
MCN: What impact has the American Cable Association had on the small operator community?
Patrick Knorr: For most or our members, the ACA has been their eyes and ears in Washington. That was part of our original mission. It has been able to obtain special relief for smaller operators on many issues, from EAS [emergency alert systems] to dual carriage.
It has also fought against the programming model that places far greater burden on smaller operators. While this issue has not been resolved, the ACA has created pressure that helps the National Cable Television Cooperative and individual members achieve more equality, which is another fight that is far from over.
MCN: What impact has ACA had on the cable industry in general?
PK: I think we have been good for the industry. We are honest brokers. We don’t throw money at problems, and never will. Every case we make has to be based only on the merits. And I think those things have earned us respect.
I think we can bring main street credibility to larger operators, and our members also bring a creative entrepreneurial spirit to the business in general. Some may say we’re too creative sometimes, but maybe some of the “big guys” can take advantage of our desire to think outside the box.
MCN: What have been some of the most challenging issues for ACA?
PK: I think retransmission consent has been the most important and the most challenging in the 15 history of the organization. It’s hard to get Washington to take action on something that “will be bad.” Well, the bad is here and retransmission consent is a broken marketplace, which will make action more likely. The bad news is that there are small cable operators that can’t create a workable business model under the laws and regulatory conditions that exist today.
MCN: Talk a little about the next 15 years for ACA.
PK: Programming and retransmission consent will continue to be major issues, and we need to work to make sure that the lack of market power independent operators have is not exploited by large conglomerates. And we need to make sure that we can operate with terms, pricing, and regulations that are comparable with our competitors.
MCN: Give us some personal insights into the ACA and its first 15 years.
PK: It has been the voice for small and independent operators. And it’s very important that its voice is different, especially with so many issues in play. And not just video issues, but with more small operators providing voice and data services, so now has the ACA has added net neutrality, CALEA [Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act], CPNI [Customer Proprietary Network Information] and more to the list.
The ACA is working to engage on all of these issues, but we need to engage on ten times as many issues as we did a few years ago. Now, it’s how we can motivate members and get them engaged by telling their stories, calling legislators and putting a face to the issues, just like we did in our very first days.
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