ACA Seeks Extension of HD Must-Carry Exemption

The American Cable Association wants the FCC to extend its HD exemption for three more years for "some very small systems."    

"Although the number of operators and systems that will qualify for the HD exemption is steadily decreasing," says the ACA, "reliance on the HD exemption remains critical for those systems that remain channel locked or are financially unable to afford the necessary equipment purchases to expand their channel capacity."    

In 2008, the FCC makes smaller operators exempt from the FCC requirement that cable operators deliver TV station signals in HD if they are delivered in HD over the air. In 2012, at the behest of ACA, the FCC extended for three more years.

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John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.