FCC Chairman Loses Cable Battle

The FCC on Tuesday long-delayed its monthly meeting when Chairman Kevin Martin couldn’t get his commissioners’ support for a controversial plan to strictly regulate cable.

Martin has pulled agenda items before, but the Wall Street Journal noted this marked the first time he personally approached reporters to tell them he couldn’t secure a majority for his proposed rule change. The meeting was originally scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, but was delayed for more than 12 hours.

Martin was trying to use data from a trade publisher, Warren Communications, to prove the cable industry has gained enough market share to invoke the 70/70 rule found in the 1984 Cable Act. The 70/70 rule states that if 70 percent of households in the United States have access to a cable provider offering 36 or more channels, and if 70 percent of that population in turn subscribes to cable, then the FCC would have the authority to ensure sufficient diversity on television.

But Congressional lawmakers, the cable industry and Warren Communications’ publisher all said the data were incomplete and shouldn’t be used as the basis for tightening governance over cable. Some Republicans last week went so far as to send a letter to Martin cautioning him against overstepping his bounds. Even Martin’s two Republicans, Deborah Tate and Robert McDowell, disagreed with him. Until now, they’ve sided with Martin on every key vote.

Cable companies weren’t publicly commenting on Tuesday’s developments, but it was a safe bet that they were thrilled not to be facing increased oversight.

FCC www.fcc.gov

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