Let’s just call it “As the Cable World Turns.” First it appeared FCC chairman Kevin Martin had suffered a major setback when his proposal to regulate cable based on the 70/70 rule was crushed by legislators unwilling to support conclusions made from sketchy data. Then Martin counterattacked with widely leaked plans to cap cable companies at 30% market share.
Good news for Martin – apparently this time he has support from the two FCC Commission Democrats, and a real chance to make the caps a reality.
While there’s no word yet on when Martin’s new proposal might come to a vote, if it does and it passes, Comcast in particular is going to be a very unhappy camper. Currently the operator owns 27% of the market, and an extra 3% share is probably on CEO Roberts’ holiday wish list this year. Unfortunately for Roberts, Martin isn’t the only thing putting a crimp in Comcast’s growth plans. The operator lowered financial projections just yesterday, saying subscriber growth has been slower than expected. That probably keeps Roberts up at night more than the FCC’s regulatory maneuvering.
Speaking of regulatory maneuvering, Martin has another proposal out to loosen regulations on media ownership (unrelated to the cable industry). The chairman would like to allow companies to own both a newspaper and a TV station under certain situations in top-20 markets. This media consolidation move sounds a lot more Martin-esque than his proposed cable regulations.
And who wants consistency anyway?