Martin Circulates Leased Must-Carry Proposal
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/13/2007 11:35:00 AM
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Tuesday night distributed to the other commissioners a proposal to give DTV multicast channels leased to minorities and small businesses by TV broadcasters the same must-carry rights as those stations get. According to Rudy Brioche, adviser to Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, the rule would allow a broadcaster to lease a multicast stream to a designated entry, with the "punch line" being that right to mandatory carriage. The proposal would essentially create a new class of station by proxy, with the same privileges, most notably carriage, and the same public interest responsibilities. Martin vetted the idea with representatives of the media--minority and otherwise-- as a way to further diversify media voices. The cable industry is not supportive of giving over more bandwidth to government-mandated carriage. Brioche says that it may diversify programming, but does not address the issue of ownership diversity, since the designated entries would be leasing, not owning, their "stations."
No related content found.
Featured Company
-
Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups throug..more
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
