Join the Small Cable Operators Supporting the DTV Quiet Period Today!

We are asking all ACA members to add their company's support to the below letter to FCC Chairman Martin requesting immediate implementation of a quiet period to ban broadcasters from pulling over-the-air stations from the channel lineups of cable and satellite customers during the DTV transition.

Take a moment to add your company's support for the quiet period and sign the letter today!

Open Letter to the FCC :

Dear Chairman Martin and Commissioners:

As small and medium-sized cable operators, we believe the government's efforts to ensure a successful digital television (&quot;DTV&quot;) transition could be seriously derailed by thousands of broadcast carriage agreements set to expire before the end of the year.  Unless the Federal Communications Commission establishes a quiet period - a prohibition on parties involved in carriage talks from pulling broadcast signals from cable and satellite customers - around the time of the DTV transition, households may be unable to obtain needed government coupons and digital-to-analog converter boxes before February 17, 2009, including many of our customers with televisions not connected to cable.  


This year's round of carriage talks is off to a foreboding start for the digital transition.  After LIN TV pulled 15 broadcast stations from 1.5 million Time Warner and Bright House cable customers in 11 markets for nearly a month in October because of a carriage dispute, the National Telecommunications and Information Association (&quot;NTIA&quot;) reported an uptick in households requesting coupons in the markets affected.  The increase in coupon demand likely came from many confused cable customers who didn't actually need a coupon or a converter box for their televisions, and would never have sought one, but for LIN TV pulling their broadcast channels.  The likelihood of such confusion is supported by the Government Accountability Office's (&quot;GAO&quot;) June 10 report to Congress that found that among those who would be unaffected by the transition, which includes many cable and satellite TV customers, &quot;30 percent indicated that they have plans to ready themselves for the transition - despite the fact that no action will be required to maintain television service.&quot;
 
Unnecessary coupon requests can threaten the success of the NTIA's digital-to-analog coupon program (&quot;Coupon Program&quot;).  According to the GAO's September 16 Congressional report, an increase in coupon requests as the transition date nears, might mean that consumers who actually need a box would incur a significant wait time before they receive their coupons, and might even lose television service before the coupon arrives.  Moreover, some lawmakers and policymakers raised concerns that the Coupon Program does not have enough funding to meet the demands of all broadcast-only homes.  Both of these problems are exacerbated when cable and satellite customers, confused by pulled signals, needlessly request coupons for converter boxes.


With thousands of carriage agreements set to expire before December 31, 2008, there will be many more broadcast carriage disputes occurring in the months ahead.  We anticipate that broadcasters will follow LIN TV's lead and pull their stations from cable and satellite customers in January and February, causing an even greater strain on the Coupon Program than that caused by LIN TV's actions in October due to its proximity to the transition date.


On behalf of consumers across the country that are relying on the government to help them get ready for the DTV transition, we urge the Commission to immediately establish a quiet period that starts no later than December 31, 2008.  By doing so, the agency will resolve an issue that now poses a real threat to the success of the DTV transition, a matter that the GAO recently declared to be an &quot;urgent policy concern&quot; that requires &quot;prioritized federal action.&quot;


We appreciate your time and attention to this matter.


Thanks,

The Small Cable Operators of America

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