SAVE THE DATE for the 16th Annual ACA Summit in Washington, D.C. April 27-29, 2009!
ACA Opposes the Broadcasters' Proposed Digital Must Carry Exemption Notice Requirements
In comments filed with the FCC, ACA urged the Commission to reject the broadcasting industry's proposal to require small operators who intend to utilize the recently adopted digital must carry exemption to provide notice of their digital to analog conversions to their customers, as well as the reason why they are qualified to do so to affected broadcasters and the Commission. Read More
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Hiawatha Broadband Communications (Winona, MN)
It may be seem incongruous with the concept of localism, butexisting Federal rules and regulations hamper my company's ability to offer itscustomers, all of whom reside in Minnesota,with broadcast stations that provide their state's news, weather and sports.
~ Gary Evans, CEO
Top Ten Key Developments of 2008 - #2
ACA Filing Encourages FCC to Examine Programmers and Broadcasters Practice of Tying and Bundling
January 10, 2008
On Thursday, January 3, ACA urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt changes to existing regulations to provide independent operators with more flexibility to provide consumers with choices and better value. ACA's filing comes in response to the FCC's request for comments in its rulemaking on the retransmission consent and program access rules.
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Top Ten Key Developments of 2008 - #1
FCC Adopts Digital Must Carry Exemption for Small Cable Operators
August 26, 2008
On August 21, the FCC adopted an Order providing an exemption for small cable systems from the onerous digital must carry requirements after the digital transition set for February 17, 2009. This action comes after more than a year-long campaign by the ACA, which included numerous meetings and filings with the FCC and Congress.
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Ask ACA
Retrans Disputes and Channel Change Notices
Question: My retransmission consent agreements expire on December 31, 2008, and I'm still negotiating with my broadcasters, but I may have to drop stations. Don't I have to give my customer 30-days notice before I can drop any signals?
Answer: ACA urges every ACA member to consult with appropriate legal counsel before making any decisions regarding retransmission consent agreements or notice to subscribers, and nothing in this answer is intended to be considered as legal advice. This answer is provided merely as an informational service to ACA members.
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Alabama Broadband, LLC (Bessemer, AL)
Unreasonable pole attachment rates and demands may be among the single biggest threat to our business. As a small operator dependent on pole attachments to serve my customers, the electric cooperatives take advantage of their market power by forcing me to comply with their onerous pole attachment rules. Their demands are so outrageous that we won't deploy service to some households in our communities, even though we'd like to expand our service area. Worse yet, some coops contract out the management of their pole attachments to firms that charge even higher rates, and provide even less service.
~Tom Early, Alabama Broadband, LLC
Reveille Broadband (Lexington, Texas)
To remain competitive, we had to upgrade some of our small, rural systems and shut down others. It was a matter of survival because we were competing head-to-head against DISH and DIRECTV, and knew Verizon was coming soon.
-Jeff Sullivan Reveille Broadband
Frankfort Plant Board (Frankfort, KY)
Frankfort Plant Board ("FPB") Cable doesn't have the same retransmission consent problems as many small operators because we can carry broadcast stations from two different markets. Accordingly, we believe that a solution to the retransmission consent problem may be to eliminate the network non-duplication ("non-dup") rules that prevent operators from carrying stations in neighboring markets.
Join the Small Cable Operators Supporting the DTV Quiet Period Today!
We are asking all ACA members to add their company's support to the below letter to FCC Chairman Martin requesting immediate implementation of a quiet period to ban broadcasters from pulling over-the-air stations from the channel lineups of cable and satellite customers during the DTV transition.
Take a moment to add your company's support for the quiet period and sign the letter today!
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Cable Story: Sunrise Communications (Onaway, MI)
"Our small size would make it difficult to handle a dual carriage obligation. I don't know how an operator in our situation affords the headend equipment and other costs."
Member Profile: Trust Communications (Jackson, MS)
"Year
after year, the broadcasters and programmers put pressure on our
company to add their affiliated networks to my basic programming
package resulting in a more bloated, costly tier with channels that my
customers neither want nor can afford. Most of our
Communication's customers in rural communities are satisfied receiving
only 65 channels as basic, especially those in low income areas - not
everyone wants to pay for 125 channels."
CableCo dba TVision (Colorado Springs, CO)
With the upcoming round of retransmission consent negotiations, we know that we'll be forced to pay fees to broadcasters for the first time, and unfortunately our customers will have to foot the bill. As a small cable operator, programming is our already largest expense by far, and we simply cannot absorb any more increases in our carriage fees.
~David Shipley, Business Manager
Independent cable operators face unique challenges that require special consideration by the FCC in terms of how it deals with the digital television transition to ensure requirements do not impact the consumers or communities served - specifically, the digital must-carry requirements. Read More
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In order for small cable operators to provide their customers with popular programming, large programmers often make them provide undesired programming on their most widely subscribed to tiers. Consumers pay the price for this abusive practice with higher cable rates and programming that is not aligned with their interests. Read More
» Key Developments
» Press Releases
» Headlines
» Filings, Testimonies, and Letters
» Resources
When broadcasters abuse their market power to demand exorbitant fees from cable operators who want to offer their signals, consumers always pay the price. Broadcasters often discriminate against small and medium-sized cable operators, extracting retransmission consent fees at substantially higher per-subscriber rates than charged larger providers. Read More
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» Write to Congress
» Write a Letter to the Editor
» Resources
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Newsroom
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Press Releases
December/2008
November/2008
25 Rural Operators Counter News Corp.’s Relief Request 14 Broadcast Carriage Disputes Threaten Digital Television Transition 11 FCC Chairman To Open Up Quiet Period For Comment October/2008
29 ACA Calls for Level Playing Field with FCC Regulatory Fees
Government Affairs
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Filings, Testimonies and Letters
December/2008
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ACA PAC
In order to protect the interests of independent cable operators, it is essential that members of Congress understand and respect the important role that ACA's 1,100 small and medium sized companies play in delivering communications services to 8 million households across the United States.
Read More
Industry Affairs
Upcoming Events
February/2009
23 NCTC's Winter Educational Conference 24 NCTC's Winter Educational Conference April/2009
27 16th Annual American Cable Association Summit July/2009
26 The Independent Show 
Digital Television Transition
America will transition to Digital Television in February! Independent cable operators are on the front lines to make sure that their customers are prepared for the change - as well as to ensure that Washington's demands don't interfere with their ability to continue to deliver quality programming and broadband services to customers. Read More
Featured Associate Member
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List of Current ACA Associate Members
