The National Hispanic Media Coalition has filed at the FCC
in support of the National Association of Broadcasters motion to stay the FCC's
viewability/dual carriage order.
NHMC says the decision will hurt elderly, low-income and
minority viewers, saying it will threaten the over-the-air stations they rely
on.
TheFCC last week denied a stay of its unanimous vote in June to lift the
requirement, starting in December, that cable operators with hybrid analog/digital
systems deliver must-carry TV stations in both formats. That rule was adopted
to ensure that viewers did not lose access to cable channels in the switch to
digital broadcast TV.
Broadcasters had been pushing the FCC to extend that
requirement another three years -- it dated from June 2009 when the digital
switch was made -- 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.
NAB has asked for a similar stay from the D.C. Appeals
court.
