Cable Networks Sue FCC Over Dual Carriage

CABLE NETWORKS SUE FCC OVER DUAL CARRIAGE
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Major cable TV programmers, including C-SPAN, Discovery Communications and The Weather Channel, are suing to block the Federal Communications Commission from forcing cable systems to carry some local TV stations in analog and digital format for three years, beginning in early 2009. The cable networks are objecting to the FCC's so-called dual must-carry rules, under which commercial TV stations that demand cable carriage are entitled to distribution in an analog and digital. The tiny number of cable systems that have gone all-digital, meaning they have reclaimed their analog bandwidth, are exempt from the dual carriage requirement adopted by the FCC in September 2008. TV One, A&E Television Networks and Scripps Networks also sued in a joint appeal filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. No cable operators are parties. The legal maneuvering didn't sit well with National Association of Broadcasters. NAB executive vice president Dennis Wharton issued a statement, saying that the suit effectively broke a promise by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association ensuring that analog cable customers would not lose access to free programming provided by niche and minority TV stations after the digital television transition.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6528400.html?nid=4262

* C-SPAN, Discovery, Others Sue FCC Over 'Dual-Carriage'
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6528396.html?rssid=193