I've spent a bunch of time bashing telephone companies over net neutrality, wiretapping, and just generally being horrible control freaks. Cable companies though are just as unethical and bent on controlling access to content. Harold Feld is bringing word that the FCC is about to rule on regulating cable monopolies to force them to include more independent and minority-owned stations.
The agency is also preparing to adopt a rule this month that would make it easier for independent programmers, which are often small operations, to lease access to cable channels.
And Mr. Martin has been circulating a plan that would use the finding on cable television dominance to set a cap on the size of the nation's largest cable companies so that no company could control more than 30 percent of the market.
When cable was deregulated in 1984, few believed it would become the dominant way that Americans would receive video. In case it did, to prevent cable from having ridiculous market power, Congress wrote that if 70% of Americans subscribed to cable, the FCC would regulate cable in the name of diversity. Cable is fighting tooth and nail, with both anti-regulatory arguments and disputes over the number of Americans who have cable (though of course they won't release numbers of their own subscribers).
It's a complete bad faith assault from the cable industry so Time Warner and Comcast can get bigger and control more content.
The politics here are interesting, and winnable. FCC Commissioners Kevin Martin and Michael Copps want to regulate the industry, but Democrat Jonathan Adelstein and Republican Deborah Tate are unsure, and Robert McDowell is opposed. This is the single best opportunity to break up the power of the cable companies and get more progressive content on TV.
I'll be watching to see how Adelstein votes. FCC politics is byzantine, but it's not always partisan and the amount of power they wield over the information channels Americans have is simply immense.
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