FCC Rule Change Brings HDTV to FiOS

Posted by: rasp1 on: 02/18/2010 12:56 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]

Cablevision and Verizon have been slugging it out over HDTV access to NY/NJ Professional Sports teams. Cablevision will not allow Verizon to carry the sports teams in HD. This was set forth by "The Cable Act". The FCC has voted four to one to change the rules so that they will favor Verizon in its upcoming hearing.

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In July of last year, Verizon filed a program access compliant against Cablevision for continual denied access to its Regional sports programing in HD. They allowed Verizon to broadcast the SD versions of the programing, but not the HD.

In the compliant they cried foul to the FCC under Section 628 of the Communications Act as dependent of the Cable Act. Section (b) states:

"declares it unlawful for a cable or satellite cable operator to engage in "unfair methods of competition" that prevent another multichannel video program distributor (MVPD) from offering "satellite cable programming or satellite broadcast programming."

The intent of the law is clear when it was passed in 1992, that the cable industry was consolidating and concentrating that it would could be used as a tool to lock out new competitors to the market, and limit consumer access to the media.

This would seem to be open and shut case in favor of Verizon, but the law only states that this matters in "satellite cable" and "satellite broadcast", which Verizon doesn't fall under with their FiOS service which is fiber optic. In the industry it was known as the "terrestrial loophole", but this loophole has been closed by the FCC.

There is still some debate whether or not the FCC has authority here, but has court precedence in their favor after the MDU ruling from 2007 over exclusivity.

Tagged as: Cablevision, FiOS, Verizon, FCC