Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 10, 1993 TAG: 9304100126
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
CABLE COMPANIES TO APPEAL FEDERAL `MUST-CARRY' RULING
Cable television operators will appeal a federal court ruling requiring one-third of their channels to be reserved for commercial and public TV broadcasters, an industry spokeswoman said Friday.The ruling issued late Thursday upholds a section of the new cable law that was challenged by operators and their programmers.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled 2-1 against the cable industry's complaint that the law violated its First Amendment free speech rights.
Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson said Congress was using its antitrust and regulatory powers to promote fair-trade practices in the market of video signals, "not a market in speech."
"We still believe our case will prevail and we will pursue appropriate appeals," said Peggy Laramie of the National Cable Television Association.
Members of the National Association of Broadcasters considered the so-called "must-carry" section of the law essential to their long-term survival.
When very few original cable shows existed, the cable companies were dependent on broadcast television for programming. But new cable networks are being created so rapidly that competition for space on the dial is tight. Smaller, independent broadcasters who are not affiliated with a network have feared they would be dropped by cable companies if the law did not require that they be carried.
The court said it would rule later on a part of the law that requires cable companies to negotiate with local broadcasters for possible payment for carrying their signals.
Cable companies pay for programming created for cable, but take broadcast signals off the air free to retransmit to viewers.
About 60 percent of the nation receives its television via cable.