NAB gears up for another must-carry push

The NAB said broadcasters would consider swapping free air time for political candidates in exchange for a multicast must-carry rule.

Author:: TVTechnology
Publish date:: Sep 1, 2005

This time NAB President Eddie Fritts is upping the ante, saying that broadcasters would consider swapping free air-time for political candidates in exchange for a multicast must-carry rule.

Fritts said that Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-TX), and Olympia Snowe, (R-ME), have agreed to lead efforts for a multicast carriage requirement in the Senate.

In addition, Fritts said Rep. Joe Barton, (R-TX), has made clear that while he opposes a carriage requirement, broadcasters should feel free to lobby other representatives for a House amendment that would require multicast carriage.

Multichannel must-carry has been rejected by the FCC and has yet to gain substantial support in Congress. It is fiercely opposed by the cable television industry.

Back to the top

Regulatory and Standards

Reports that FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will reconsider multicast must-carry have fired up lawmakers and lobbyists alike. Martin previously said he would revisit the issue once he had a majority on the commission, which finally materialized with the recent confirmation of Robert McDowell. Martin was the lone supporter o

The National Religious Broadcasters is concerned that the window of opportunity may be closing for Congressional action on multichannel must-carry

Regulatory and Standards

Despite broadcasters' claims that they will have little incentive to produce multiple streams of digital programming unless cable systems carry all the multicast signals, the notion of "multicasting must-carry" has enjoyed little sympathy from the FCC or the House staff threatening to introduce a comprehensive DTV-stim

The FCC’s unanimous rejection of digital cable multicast must-carry was not a welcome decision for the broadcast industry

The broadcast lobby is bracing for a court battle over multicast must-carry. After seven years, a court order and more than 1,200 filings, the FCC is set to render a decision on the issue next Thursday. The word on the street is that multicast must-carry will go down in flames, and moves by individual commissioners c

The FCC will again take up cable and satellite carriage of broadcast signals at its next regular meeting July 14. The commission will consider allowing a combination of must-carry and retransmission consent during the rest of the digital transition period, according to FCC sources. Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, dur

As part of its legislative push, the NAB unveiled results of a new study showing the financial benefits of multicast DTV carriage by cable systems

Regulatory and Standards

The National Religious Broadcasters and other religious leaders are urging legislators to include multichannel must-carry requirements in pending DTV legislation before Congress. If such a mandate is not included, they said, it would deny the availability of family-friendly and community-oriented programming to the