PITTSBURGH, October 9, 2009 – American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka saluted CEO Colleen Abdoulah and her team at WOW! Internet, Cable and Phone on winning the north central region in the most recent national consumer satisfaction survey by J.D. Power and Associates. "Taking first place in the latest J.D. Power survey is a great and richly deserved honor for WOW! under CEO Colleen Abdoulah, who has made a lasting contribution to ACA over the years in her role as a highly valued board member," Polka said. "WOW! not only took top honors in its north central region, but it also received the highest point total of any company in the survey, including the winners of the other three regions. According to J.D. Power, the 2009 Residential Television survey measured customer satisfaction with cable, satellite and Internet protocol (IPTV) television providers in four regions: North Central, East, West and South. The survey graded performance based on five factors to determine overall consumer satisfaction: performance and reliability; customer service; cost of service; billing; offerings and promotions. The survey, conducted in January, March and July 2009, included responses from 28,118 U.S. households that evaluated their cable, satellite or IPTV provider. "The J.D. Power survey is highly respected and reliable because of the time and resources devoted to understanding consumer sentiment at a granular level. In winning its region, Colleen's team at WOW! should take pride in demonstrating that paying close attention to the needs of customers will always be noticed and rewarded in the marketplace," Polka said. At the 4th Annual Independent Cable Show in Dallas, Texas, in July, WOW! received the ACA PAC Leadership Award, which goes to the ACA member that demonstrates awareness of the importance of the ACA PAC to help both Democratic and Republican candidates in the U.S. House and Senate who are concerned about the well-being of independent cable operators and their customers. # # # About the American Cable Association Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing more than 900 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 https://acaconnects.org/

Small Cable Operators Look Forward to Working with Lawmakers Who Recognize That CALM Act Could Impose Costly Regulatory Burdens and Hefty Fines On Small Businesses Providing Pay-TV Service

PITTSBURGH, October 8, 2009 – The American Cable Association commended several House lawmakers for agreeing to work with small cable operators that have expressed concerns about legislation that would order the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the loudness of TV commercials.

“ACA is pleased that some House members recognize that many small cable operators have no control over the loudness of commercials contained in local TV shows or national cable networks,” ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.”ACA is hopeful that Congress will consider an exemption for small cable companies that do not insert their own ads and will give small operators that perform ad insertions a reasonable amount of time to come into compliance.”

Polka’s comments came after House Communications, Technology, and the Internet Subcommittee chairman Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and bill sponsor Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)expressed openness to the idea of addressing the concerns of small cableoperators regarding the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act or CALM Act. In opening statements, Rep. Zack Space (D-Ohio) and Rep. Greg Walden(R-Ore.) each spoke about the impact of this legislation on small cableoperators. Polka praised Boucher, Eshoo, Space and Walden for their interest insearching for a solution in response to ACA’s reminder that one-size-fits-all regulation typically has a disproportionate impact on small, independent cable companies and their customers.

“ACA members agree with Rep. Eshoo and other cosponsors of the legislation that TV viewers should not be jolted in their homes by commercials that air at volume levels much higher than the programming they have just interrupted,” Polka said.”But as a matter of fairness, the bill should not cause smaller systems to purchase costly equipment or subject them to potentially hefty fines when they are not the ones causing the problem because they do not add their own local commercials to programming streams.”

Importantly, customers served by ACA members covered by the exemption would still benefit from the broad protections of the CALM Act.

“So long as broadcasters are obligated to comply with the law, and nationally distributed programmers are doing so at the request of larger cable operators, all of the programming — including the commercials — that would be passed through to small cable subscribers would be in compliance with the CALM Act,” Polka said.

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About the AmericanCable Association

Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing more than 900 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 https://acaconnects.org/