ACA Urges FCC To Strengthen Program Access Protections For Buying Groups

The American Cable Association urged the Federal Communications Commission to reform its program access rules in a manner that gives program buying groups, such as the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), the ability to seek relief under the important statutory protections that remain following the recent expiration of the program access exclusivity ban.

"ACA commends the FCC for recognizing the valuable role played by buying groups and urges it to adopt key reforms to ensure small and medium-sized multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) who license programming through buying groups receive the full benefit of the protections intended by Congress," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.

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ACA's Polka Applauds Rep. Eshoo and Sen. Whitehouse As CALM Act Takes Effect

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement regarding the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act, which took effect on Dec. 13 -- one year to the day after adoption of the Federal Communications Commission’s implementing regulations.

"The American Cable Association applauds Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), authors of the CALM Act, for addressing the problem of loud TV commercials with proportional regulations that correctly took into account the concerns of small cable operators, few of whom have control over the volume of the commercials embedded in the programming streams heard by their subscribers.

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• Fox Appeals Ruling On Dish's AutoHop (Variety, 12/16)
  In an appeal to a federal judge's ruling, Fox Broadcasting says it is not "crying wolf" about the potential disruption to the broadcast business that may come from Dish Network's DVR-like feature that automatically skips commercials.
• NCTA Funds Study Claiming Usage-Based Broadband Pricing Is Pro-Consumer (Multichannel News, 12/14)
  The National Cable & Telecommunications Association funded a new academic research study finding that usage-based pricing of broadband gives ISPs an incentive to provide more affordable plans -- while an industry critic disputed the paper’s findings, arguing that only effective competition will drive prices down.
• FCC Begins Regulating Volume Levels In Commercials (Fierce Cable, 12/13)
  Broadcasters, major cable MSOs and satellite TV providers must begin monitoring the volume levels in commercials, with FCC rules spawned by the passage of the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act going into effect today.
• Comcast CEO On Why He's Losing Customers (TVPredictions, 12/13)
  Comcast CEO Brian Roberts tells Forbes Magazine that Comcast has steadily lost video subscribers over the last few years due to increased competition and the fact the company didn't offer the "best suite of products."
• Canadian Court Tosses Retrans-Consent Plan (Multichannel News, 12/13)
  In a 5-4 decision, the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that that country's version of the FCC does not have the authority to impose a retransmission consent regime on Canada's cable and satellite operators.
• Comcast Subscribers Can Download 'Homeland', 'Dexter' For Offline Viewing (Fierce Cable, 12/13)
  Comcast said Thursday that its Xfinity TV customers who also subscribe to Showtime will be able to download Dexter, Homeland and other hit original series to Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Android tablets and smartphones for offline viewing.
• Move The Chain$: Sports Pay-TV Rates Up 16% Over 2 Yrs. (New York Post, 12/13)
  Whether pay-TV customers watch football or not, they’re about to get blitzed.
• Dish Customer Arrested For Allegedly Threatening TV Station Over Retrans Blackout (Mail Tribune, 12/13)
  A man apparently upset that he couldn't watch local Fox programming from his satellite provider has been arrested on suspicion of making threats to blow up the Fox 26 KMVU station in Medford and shoot a specific employee there.
• The Impact Of DirecTV's Extra Sports Fee (Trefis, 12/12)
  DirecTV has started charging an additional fee of $3 per month to some of its new customers who subscribe to programming packages above the basic one.
• 80 Billion Reasons Why Pay-TV Will Become Even More Expensive (Video-Nuze, 12/12)
  If you think your monthly pay-TV bill is already pretty expensive, then brace yourself for rate increases that will definitely be happening over the next several years, particularly in certain geographic areas of the U.S.
• Don't Call It A Sports Tier (SNL, 12/11)
  There was never any question that consumers would ultimately pay for rising sports costs, but just how much they will pay is becoming a bit clearer.

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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