McDowell Favors Industry Deal On Quiet Period

Appearing on C-SPAN's The Communicators, Federal Communications Commission member Robert McDowell is urging TV station owners, cable operators and satellite TV providers to reach a private agreement that guarantees carriage of local TV signals during next February's digital TV transition. In other comments, Commissioner McDowell said he expects Comcast to win its broadband network management court case against the FCC. He also voiced his opposition to forcing the cable industry to the break up its programming packages and sell channels on an a la carte basis. "...Because I think it is a market-driven a la carte world, I don't see the need for a government mandate," he said.