NCTA formally asked FCC to open rulemaking on attribution rules. ...

NCTA formally asked FCC to open rulemaking on attribution rules. Request came in comments Fri. to Commission on cable ownership limits. Fri. was deadline for first round of comments in rulemaking; replies are due Feb. 4. NCTA Pres. Robert Sachs said last month that his association objected to rule that company with 5% stake in another was considered to have controlling interest in 2nd company (CD Dec 12 p3). NCTA believes attribution is inexorably linked to questions of ownership limits, he said. Filing said attribution rules “should be crafted to ensure that only subscribers who are actually affected by the cable operator’s programming decisions are counted towards the cap.” ACA Pres. Matthew Polka said his group wasn’t submitting comments on cable ownership limits, but would monitor incoming comments for possible reply on behalf of small and rural cable operators. Comcast, which recently won bidding war for AT&T Broadband (CD Dec 20 Special Report) and would become country’s largest MSO, said in its filing that “in light of current marketplace circumstances, cable operators cannot impede the flow of video programming to consumers,” so competition should replace regulation. Proposed Comcast takeover of AT&T Broadband, which would reach some 22 million subscribers, would be only entity that would come close to reaching current de facto limit of 30%. U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., last year struck down limit, saying FCC couldn’t justify its number (CD March 5 p1). Comcast didn’t propose any specific rule or formulation but noted that it currently competed with 2 DBS operators: “Today, competition, investment and innovation and ensure consumer access to a wide range of video programming choices. Today, no one cable operator can act as a bottleneck.” Comcast said court decisions constrained Commission from establishing new limits that would infringe on companies’ First Amendment rights, and any rules FCC adopted should be narrowly tailored and “grounded in demonstrable risks of harm to consumers.” More than 850 comments were filed on behalf of individual consumers who signed form letters opposing loosening cable ownership limits.