Powell Mildly Praises Program Access
By TED HEARN -- Multichannel News, 4/30/2001
Las Vegas— Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell last week indicated that he thinks there may be some sound arguments for extending cable program-access laws beyond October 2002.
Although he had not formed a firm opinion, Powell said extension of the rules might be necessary to combat cable's power in the programming-distribution market.
"I will be somewhat more inclined to look at the merits of that provision personally," Powell said at an April 24 forum here hosted by the investment firm A.G. Edwards Inc.
The 1992 Cable Act requires cable operators to sell satellite-delivered networks they own to competing multichannel distributors, including direct-broadcast satellite companies. Many feel that DBS might not even exist without access to those cable networks.
Terrestrially delivered networks and broadcast-affiliated networks are exempt from the rules.
Although the rules expire on Oct. 5, 2002, the FCC has the authority to extend them. In his comments, Powell did not indicate how long such an extension might last, if he deemed it necessary.
The National Cable Television Association wants the FCC to allow the rules to sunset, claiming that DBS operators would have the economic clout to gain access to vital programming on their own.
DBS operators DirecTV Inc. and EchoStar Communications Corp. want the rules retained and extended to include terrestrially delivered networks and broadcast-affiliated cable programming.
Powell is skeptical of FCC involvement in the media marketplace, but said the program-access rules could represent a limited intrusion designed to prevent market failure.
"That's a far cry from saying that I think the rule must exist," the chairman said. "It's just that I think I can see an argument that has slightly more merit in my mind than many of the ones that people argue."
