ACA Applauds FCC On Pausing HD STB Home Networking Mandate

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on Nov. 28 after the Federal Communications Commission decided to provide small cable operators an additional three months to come into compliance with the recordable, IP-based output requirement for HD set-top boxes beyond the 18-month extension granted to the entire industry:

"The American Cable Association applauds the FCC for recognizing that smaller operators have historically had difficulty complying with equipment and software mandates when facing the same deadline as larger operators. Instead of requiring small and medium-sized operators to file costly waivers in response to equipment and software shortages in the market, the FCC did the right thing by simply setting the deadline three months later for these operators,” Polka said.

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ACA Vice Chairman Gessner Interviewed On Orlando Radio 740AM

On Nov. 28, American Cable Association Vice Chairman Robert Gessner appeared on Orlando, Fl., sports radio station 740 AM to discuss the negative impact of the soaring cost of sports TV deals on monthly pay-TV bills – combined with the fact that consumers who are not sports fans are required to pay for football, baseball, basketball games they do not watch.

Hear the entire interview here.

• Rising Sports Programming Costs Could Have Consumers Crying Foul (Los Angeles Times, 12/1)
  The new owners of the Dodgers are expected to get $6-billion-plus for the TV rights to their team's games.
• Cogeco Cable Completes Acquisition Of Atlantic Broadband (Aiken Standard, 12/1)
  Atlantic Broadband, the main cable company offered in the Aiken area, has now officially been acquired by Cogeco Cable, according to a Saturday press release.
• TV Broadcasters Tell Appeals Court To Shut Down Aereo (The Hollywood Reporter, 11/30)
  On Friday, the major TV broadcasters made their second attempt to shut down Aereo, the digital TV service that was funded in great part by Barry Diller and launched this past March.
• Sinclair Makes It A Triopoly In Baltimore (TVNewsCheck, 11/29)
  For years, Fox Television Stations' WUTB Baltimore gave Fox considerable leverage in its sometime contentious affiliation negotiations with Sinclair Broadcast Group.
• Rural Telecoms: USF Reforms Are Pushing Us Toward Fiscal Cliff (Broadcasting & Cable, 11/28)
  Rural telecom providers have taken their complaints about the FCC's Universal Service Fund (USF) reforms to the White House, tying the issue to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.
• House Dems Decry Verizon's Net Neutrality Stand (Politico, 11/28)
  Top Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are holding a briefing Wednesday to discuss Verizon’s “troubling” legal challenge to the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules.
• 'Pay TV Refugees' Seen Populating 13% Of U.S. Broadband Households (Fierce Online Video, 11/27)
  There are 11 million broadband households in the United States comprised of cord cutters and cord nevers who do not subscribe to pay TV services.
• Issa Looks To ban Internet Regulations (The Hill, 11/27)
  Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is seeking input on a bill that would impose a two-year ban on new laws or regulations that affect the Internet.
• NCTA's Powell: FCC Needs To Get Out Of Mergers, Give Wireless Its Due (Multichannel News, 11/27)
  The FCC needs to be relieved of its merger review authority and made to understand that it needs to take wireless into account when it is looking at the competitive broadband market.
• Google Take No Gambles With KC TV (mediapost.com, 11/26)
  It would have been interesting if Google had become more creative with the channel offerings for its new TV service in the Kansas City area.
• Go, Rutgers! Big 10=Big $ (The New York Post, 11/22)
  Madison Avenue is cheering the news that Rutgers and Maryland are joining the Big Ten.

For more ACA News visit the Newsroom on the ACA Website.

Across this vast country, small and rural markets participate in the digital revolution by receiving video, broadband, and phone services from nearly 850 small and medium-sized independent operators represented by the American Cable Association (ACA).

ACA’s members -- cable, phone, and fiber-to-the-home operators and municipalities -- deliver affordable basic and advanced services to about 7.4 million households and businesses. ACA members operate in every state, offering high-definition television, next generation Internet access, and digital phone service.

Access to advanced communications is not a luxury but a critical necessity for consumers and companies, schools and hospitals. America’s economic prosperity in smaller markets and rural areas depends on the growth and success of ACA members, who believe a connected nation, is a united nation.

The ACA asks lawmakers and regulators to ensure fair treatment so that small and medium-sized independent operators may continue to supply affordable video, broadband, and phone services to Main Street America. Through active participation in the policymaking process, ACA members and leaders advocate for the interests of their customers, their companies, and their communities to help ensure the continued viability of their way of life in hometown America.

For more information, visit www.americancable.org, or contact:

• Ted Hearn, VP Communications
  (202) 713-0826 | thearn@americancable.org
• Ross Lieberman, VP Government Affairs
  (202) 494-5661 | rlieberman@americancable.org

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