Small Cable Files Comments in Support of Regulatory Fee Equality with Satellite
PITTSBURGH-Oct. 29, 2008-The American Cable Association (ACA) formally requested that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) take action to address the disparity in regulatory fees between cable operators and DBS. In its filing (available here), ACA explained that the video marketplace today is highly competitive, particularly in the areas served by independent cable operators, and harm is caused by a regulatory fee structure that unjustifiably favors satellite TV over cable. ACA called on the FCC to impose a uniform subscriber-based regulatory fee on all pay television providers to provide platform uniformity.
“In today’s highly competitive video market, it is a matter of fairness to apply the same regulatory fee structure to both cable and satellite TV,” said ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. “By continuing to permit this unjustifiable inequality, the Commission is causing irreparable competitive harm to cable operators, particularly in small markets and rural areas where satellite TV is the dominant provider.”
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About the American Cable Association
Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing 1,100 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for more than 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA’s members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit www.americancable.org.