FCC nixes multicast must carry

The FCC took a big stand with the cable industry over broadcasters, reaffirming an earlier finding that CATV operators do not have to provide dual analog/digital carriage during the remainder of the DTV transition phase by a 5-0 vote, and reaffirming cable's responsibility to carry only one and only one broadcast programming stream, regardless of whether or not the broadcaster is multicasting, by a vote of 4-1.

Outgoing Media Bureau Chief Ken Ferree kicked off the session by signaling the decision with a quote: "When it is not necessary to change, it is necessary not to change."

The big issue on the table was multicast must carry. Republicans Michael Powell and Kathleen Abernathy felt that compelling cable systems to carry any more than the single stream seemingly mandated by Congressional intent would be a violation of their First Amendment rights. They said that imposing a multicast obligation would not likely survive a constitutional court challenge.

Democrats Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein voted with cable for entirely different reasons. They said that the timing of the multicast vote was poor, and that it should have followed determination of broadcaster public interest requirements. If there was an obligation on broadcasters to provide local community-oriented programming, they perhaps would have seen their way to imposing a multicast must-carry obligation on cable operators. Absent that, they said the possibility that multicasting could conceivably be devoted to six channels of infomercials with little or no public interest benefit attached made imposition of a cable operator carriage obligation insupportable.

Only Republican Kevin Martin supported full carriage. He said the intention of must-carry in the first place was never to help out large, network-affiliated stations, which have the muscle and desirable mass-appeal programming to negotiate their own way with cable operators. It is there to protect small independent broadcasters providing niche or religious programming. He felt that failing to support multicast must carry ultimately hurt the niche players.