
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 9, 1993                   TAG: 9306090229
SECTION: STATE                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

CABLE TV ANTITRUST SUIT SETTLED

State and federal authorities have settled a massive antitrust dispute with the nation's largest cable television companies, winning concessions that could help open the cable industry's virtual monopoly over TV subscribers.

Attorney generals from more than 40 states will announce a settlement today with seven major cable companies, following a nearly five-year probe by seven states, including Maryland, New York and California, sources close to the investigation said Tuesday.

A separate though somewhat narrower agreement will be signed by the companies with the Justice Department, which conducted a parallel inquiry.

Investigators involved in the case said the settlement will ensure that satellite broadcasters, microwave-relay TV systems and others that have sought to compete against the cable industry will be able to buy programming owned or controlled by the cable industry.

These competitors have complained for years that the cable industry refused to sell them cable programming, such as CNN or MTV, or made it so expensive they couldn't be competitive. Without being able to air these networks, the competing services say they can't attract customers.

The settlement includes an agreement by the cable companies that they won't discriminate against a company offering a competing technology, and that they will sell cable-owned programs on "reasonable terms," said an attorney close to the cable companies. The cable firms have also agreed to reimburse the states $5 million for their investigative costs.

The agreement comes eight months after Congress passed legislation that contains language guaranteeing similar program availability to cable's competitors, prompting the cable industry attorney to downplay the impact of the settlement.

The investigators disagreed. "What we are going to see is the cable monopoly start to crumble, and consumers will start to see a real choice," a leading investigator said. "When your cable bill goes up $2 per month next year, you're going to be able call up a [microwave-relay or "wireless cable" company] and see the same programming for less."

by CNB