ACA Says HD Exemption Is Still Needed

The American Cable Association told the Federal Communications Commission that the public interest is best served by continuing to exempt small cable systems from its requirement that cable operators transmit must-carry stations in high definition if that is the way they are delivered over the air.

The mandate dates back to the digital television transition of 2009, as does the exemption. The FCC is currently deciding whether to extend that mandate and the exemption, both of which it appears inclined to do. The National Association of Broadcasters does not oppose the exemption, but has asked that it be narrowed so that if a smaller cable operator delivers any channel in HD, the exemption goes away. ACA says renewing the exemption does not turn on a legal interpretation of the viewability rule, but on minimizing the impact of the mandate on smaller operators, including the burdens of "increased costs; disruption of channel lineups; and the undermining of the business case for operating many small systems."