The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a plan designed to promote competition for cable television from rivals by strengthening rules against exclusive programming agreements.
Under the FCC’s new rules, the agency would have deadlines for ruling on program access complaints. The agency also opened the door for damages to be paid by companies that willfully violate program access rules.
The changes were intended to “fine-tune” the program access rules that have been in place since 1993, said FCC Commissioner Susan Ness. The changes promote “swift justice” so that companies aren’t thrown into an “interminable delay,” she said.
Getting access to the most popular cable TV programs is one the biggest obstacles new cable rivals face, Chicago-based Ameritech Corp., EchoStar Communications Corp. and other new competitors to traditional cable operators told the FCC.
Part of the problem, they said, is that the cable companies do not face meaningful penalties when the FCC rules against them in a program access dispute.
