Martin: No Retreat On A La Carte

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Wednesday he has no plans to retreat from his quest to pressure the cable industry into adopting an a la carte business model. "Absolutely, I am still enthusiastic about it. I absolutely think it's the right thing," Martin said in testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. Chairman Martin recited his anti-cable litany to justify government intervention: rising nominal tier rates and the inability of consumers to opt out of large programming packages. As Chairman Martin acknowledged once again Wednesday, the FCC is powerless to force cable operators to break up their tiers. Instead, Martin has the FCC poised to regulate some contract terms and conditions between cable operators and their programming suppliers. Over the past few days, Martin has been auditioning a proposal under which cable operators would have the right to eject from expanded basis any cable network that demanded a monthly licenses fee in excess of a certain amount. Martin has floated 75 cents as the ceiling, a level that could clearly threaten ESPN's home on expanded basic.
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