FCC Grants TWC Effective Competition Requests

By John Eggerton
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The FCC has agreed to deregulate basic cable
rates in a dozen markets in Ohio and California where Time Warner
Cable has demonstrated effective competition.

The
FCC said TWC had met the threshold showing of competition from satellite
operators Dish and DirecTV, including that at least half the households in each
market could receive the competing services and at least 15% of the households
in the market subscribed to other than the dominant service.

The
FCC presumes a market is not competitive until an MVPD can demonstrate that it
is.

The
systems are in Bradbury, Calif., and 11 Ohio franchise areas.

John Eggerton
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.