NCTA: Let Program-Access Ban Expire

NCTA: LET PROGRAM-ACCESS BAN EXPIRE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News 4/3, AUTHOR: Linda Haugsted]
Strong competition from direct-broadcast satellite and terrestrial competitors means the ban that prevents exclusive agreements between programming networks and cable operators that have invested in them is no longer needed, according to a Federal Communications Commission filing Monday by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Due to the growth in penetration of providers DirecTV and EchoStar Communications, more than one in three video households (approximately 28 million) now buy pay television services from vendors other than cable-television providers, according to the NCTA filing. This means that if a channel were to refuse to deal with DBS competitors, that programmer stands to lose 30% of its distribution revenue, the filing added. Retention of the access ban serves to “distort marketplace competition,” according to the document.
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