Public Television and American Cable Association Finalize Major Digital Carriage Agreement

The Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) announced they finalized a major digital cable carriage agreement with the American Cable Association (ACA).

The parties expect to ratify and adopt the deal by mid-October.

“I congratulate ACA, APTS and PBS for this historic carriage agreement,” said FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. “It’s a win-win for cable operators, public broadcasters and, most importantly, the viewing public.”

The 10-year agreement would apply to participating ACA members’ high-definition cable systems and include DTV carriage commitments of Public Television stations both pre- and post-digital TV transition. Under the agreement, cable operators would carry the primary signal of the DTV station on the lowest priced tier, while multicast channels would be carried on the tier where other multicast channels are carried.

ACA’s nearly 1,100 member companies serve about 8 million subscribers in all 50 states. There are 361 Public Television stations in the U.S.