FCC Tees Up Video Competition Report

The FCC will issue its annual report on the state of video
competition at the July public meeting, according to the commission's agenda released
on Friday.

That will put the FCC back on track for the annual
assessment. Last year's report actually covered 2007-10 after the FCC had to
delay and reissue requests for information.

Cable operators will be hoping for a conclusion that the
marketplace is sufficiently competitive to justify revisiting current
regulations.

Last year's report pointed out that cable operators account
for less than 60% of all MVPD subs, down from 65% in 2006. But while video sub
counts have been falling, says the FCC, MVPDs have still done well by
increasing sales of phone and Internet.

Also on the agenda are a report on the status of its implementation
of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
(CVAA), its long-telegraphed revamp of the E-rate program that subsidizes
high-speed broadband to schools and libraries.

The president has recently made E-Rate one of
the priorities of his broadband deployment push.

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.