Technologie i telekomunikacja · 8.06.2005

Cable Television Horizontal and Vertical Ownership Limits

The Commission seeks additional input on horizontal and vertical cable ownership limits to satisfy the legislative mandate in the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 (1992 Cable Act) and the court's directives in Time Warner Entertainment Co. v. FCC, 240 F.3d 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (Time Warner II). Section 613(f) of the Communications Act, enacted as part of the 1992 Cable Act, directs the Commission to conduct proceedings to establish reasonable limits on the number of subscribers a cable operator may serve (horizontal limit) and the number of channels a cable operator may devote to its affiliated programming networks (vertical, or channel occupancy, limit). The court in Time Warner II reversed and remanded the Commission's 30% horizontal ownership limit and its 40% channel occupancy limit. The Commission concludes that it is necessary to update and strengthen the evidentiary record, which must be sufficient to support revised ownership limits.