The FCC has denied broadcasters' request for a stay of the
FCC's viewability/dual carriage decision that, starting in December, cable
operators with hybrid analog/digital systems don't have to deliver must-carry
TV stations in both formats.
The FCC voted unanimously in June to lift that requirement.
Broadcasters had been pushing the FCC to extend that
requirement another three years, while cable operators said it was time to lift
it and give them more capacity to offer other services consumers might want.
Both sides were doing hefty lobbying in the run-up to the vote, but cable's
arguments held sway in the final order.
On Aug. 1, the National Association of Broadcasters sought a
stay of the order until the D.C. Circuit could hear NAB's appeal of the
decision. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association opposed the
stay.
NAB still has hope. In the Tennis Channel program carriage
compliant, Comcast also sought an FCC stay of that decision until the same
appeals court could hear its challenge. The FCC denied that stay, but the same
D.C. appeals court last week granted its own stay of the FCC decision until it
could hear Comcast's challenge.
NAB has asked for a similar stay from the D.C. Appeals
court, too, a decision on which had not been made at presstime, according to
NAB.
