American Cable Association applauds FCC sunset of viewability rule

ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement after the Federal Communications Commission voted to sunset the viewability rule, which required cable systems to utilize their channel capacity to carry the signals of must carry broadcast signals in both digital and analog format:“ACA commends the Federal Communications Commission for allowing the viewability rule to sunset on schedule three years after the DTV transition. By permitting cable operators to offer must-carry signals in digital only, these providers can now use the reclaimed capacity to offer improved services, such as better broadband and more diverse programming options”.Polka also said ACA is especially pleased with the FCC’s decision to continue to exempt smaller cable systems from the mandatory distribution of must carry signals in native HD format. “ACA appreciates that the FCC recognized the technical and economic challenges faced by smaller cable systems, justifying policies that do not disproportionately harm the consumers served by many of ACA’s rural-based member companies. The exemption will provide smaller systems with the additional time they need to upgrade so that they too can eventually provide must carry signals in HD.”