NAB, ACT, Public Knowledge, Common Cause Join Forces Opposing Effective Competition NPRM

There are many more narrow ways the FCC could fulfill the provisions of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization without making effective cable competition a “rebuttable presumption,” said a joint filing from NAB, Public Knowledge, Common Cause and American Community Television. The FCC could reduce the filing burden or strip away some of the required data, the groups said, or provide a shot clock for the ruling of effective competition to be granted. In a meeting with Media Bureau staff Wednesday, the American Cable Association said it supports the commission's more sweeping plan to assume all cable faces effective competition, according to an ex parte filing. Concerns voiced by NAB and others about how the FCC rule change would affect broadcasting are unfounded, ACA said. “There are a variety of factors, including marketplace forces and compulsory license costs, that make it unlikely that cable operators will reduce the availability of broadcast signals to subscribers,” ACA said.