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from: NY Times

October 29, 2007
F.C.C. Set to End Sole Cable Deals for Apartments
By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 —The Federal Communications Commission, hoping to reduce the rising costs of cable television, is preparing to strike down thousands of contracts this week that gave individual cable companies exclusive rights to provide service to an apartment building, the agency’s chairman says.

From: Free Press

FCC Tricks the Public to Treat Big Media

Is FCC Chairman Kevin Martin trying to trick the people of Washington, D.C.?

Late last night, the chairman announced a "public" hearing at FCC headquarters on Oct. 31 on how consolidation impacts local media. He gave the public just a few days' notice, hoping they won't find out or show up.

Will you be there?

Note: The FCC is also expected to issue an order on video franchising for cable companies (giving them the same provisions the FCC gave the Telcos last year). This is a good day to come to Washington.

Halloween Hijinks at the FCC in DC: Tell Them No to Media Consolidation!

Greetings from the Prometheus Radio Project! Please read this note, and forward widely!

Do the letters F-C-C bring out the monster mogul andcorporate ghoul in you? Does FCC Chairman Kevin Martin have a sick sense of humor, or is he just plain scary?

from: Broadcasting & Cable

FCC Meeting Agenda a Mixed Bag for Cable
By John Eggerton
10/24/2007 7:23:00 PM

The Federal Communications Commission released the agenda for its Oct. 31 public meeting, and it is a mixed bag for cable, with proposals to extend the industry franchise relief but to ban its exclusive deals with apartment buildings.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

Don't Tread on Us, States Tell FCC’s Martin
National Conference of State Legislators: Leave Exclusive Contracts for Cable Service in Apartments, Condos to the Marketplace

By John Eggerton
Broadcasting & Cable, 10/23/2007 3:22:00 PM

The National Conference of State Legislators agrees with top cable company Comcast that the Federal Communications Commission should leave exclusive contracts for cable service in apartments and condos to the marketplace, saying that to ban them from Washington would impinge on the state sovereignty.

from: CNN

FCC to Soon Extend Franchise Relief to Cable Companies

From Dow Jones, October 18, 2007
By Corey Boles

The Federal Communications Commission will shortly extend the same regulatory relief to the cable industry that it granted to telephone companies earlier this year, two agency officials said Thursday.

from: Gresham Outlook

Community television weakened by FCC

By Rob Brading
Oct 5, 2007

When Congress didn’t enact telecommunications legislation in late 2006, local governments and advocates of media that’s less concentrated, more diverse and more local breathed a sigh of relief. Less than a year later, those same folks are wondering if they should have paid more heed to the old adage about being careful what you wish for.

from: Eureka Reporter

Pending FCC ruling could affect cable franchises nationwide

by Steve Spain, The Eureka Reporter, 9/17/2007

An imminent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission may toss municipal cable franchise agreements out the window. According to sources in Washington, D.C., the FCC is expected to rule next week on the ability of local governments to negotiate franchise contracts with cable and telecom operators.

Washington, DC, September 14, 2007 — In another blow to consumers and cities, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected soon to decree that any company now under contract with a local government to provide video services may have the right to renegotiate better terms for itself, putting at risk America’s public access channels, first‑responder communications capability, and millions of dollars in franchise fees used by cities and towns for public safety and infrastructure.

from: Broadcasting and Cable

FCC Pulls Cable-Franchise Item from Sept. 11 Meeting Agenda
Cable Operators Won’t See Franchise Rules Loosened to Level Faced by Telcos

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/7/2007 1:02:00 PM

The Federal Communications Commission pulled an item from its Sept. 11 public meeting that would have extended its loosened franchise rules to cable.