The Role of the Federal Communications Commission
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THE ROLE OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION, CONGRESS AND THE COURTS IN THE BATTLE BETWEEN COMMERCIAL BROADCASTERS AND CABLE TELEVISION OPERATORS: MUST-CARRY, THE DIGITAL TRANSITION AND BEYOND By DAVID JOSEPH DEELEY A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 David Joseph Deeley 2 To my parents, Thomas and Jo-Ann Deeley— Without your love, support and encouragement this would not have been possible. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation caps a lengthy yet successful journey of rediscovery and would not have been possible without the patience, support and understanding of many people. The author would first like to acknowledge the guidance and direction provided by his advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. David H. Ostroff. He also expresses sincere thanks to his committee members: Dr. John W. Wright, Dr. Justin Brown and Professor Lyrissa Lidsky for their incredible patience and guidance over these many years. The author also wishes to offer is heartfelt thanks to his family and friends. This endeavor has proven more challenging than imagined and without the love and support of family, friends, classmates the successful completion of this dissertation would not have been possible. A final thanks to Dr. David Goff and my colleagues at the University of North Florida for their encouragement, understanding and support during the completion of this study. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 Purpose .................................................................................................................. 19 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 20 Broadcast and Cable History ............................................................................ 21 First Amendment .............................................................................................. 33 Public Interest ................................................................................................... 36 Must-Carry ........................................................................................................ 38 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 44 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 44 Primary Sources ............................................................................................... 45 Secondary Sources .......................................................................................... 45 Dissertation Outline................................................................................................. 46 2 THE BIRTH OF BROADCASTING ......................................................................... 48 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 48 Congress Cuts the Cord: The Early Regulation of Wireless ................................... 49 The Hoover Years: Conferences, Courts and ―Chaos‖ ........................................... 52 The First National Radio Conference (1922) .................................................... 54 The Second National Radio Conference (1923) ............................................... 55 The Third National Radio Conference (1924) ................................................... 57 The Fourth National Radio Conference (1925) ................................................. 58 The End of Hoover‘s Rule of Radio – Intercity Radio and Zenith ..................... 61 Congressional Regulation ....................................................................................... 63 The Radio Act of 1927 ...................................................................................... 64 The Communications Act of 1934 .................................................................... 66 Broadcasting with Pictures: The Technology of Television ..................................... 68 Reeling in Network Power ................................................................................ 68 Regulating the ‗Chain‘: NBC v. United States ................................................... 72 The Early Development of Television ............................................................... 75 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 82 3 BROADCASTING BLOSSOMS AND CABLE COMES OF AGE ............................ 84 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 84 Community Antenna Television (CATV) Fills the Broadcast Gap ........................... 86 Growing Pains: Cable Extends its Reach and Broadcasters Push Back ................ 89 5 The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) ............................................. 91 The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) ..................... 92 Modeling the Broadcast/Cable Regulatory Process ......................................... 93 The FCC places Cable on the Road to Regulation ........................................... 95 1959 Report and Order..................................................................................... 96 Carroll Broadcasting v. FCC (1958) ................................................................. 99 Carter Mountain v. FCC (1963) ...................................................................... 100 The FCC Regulates Cable and Makes the Move to Must-Carry ........................... 101 FCC‘s First Report and Order ......................................................................... 102 FCC‘s Second Report and Order ................................................................... 106 U.S. v. Southwestern Cable Co. (1968).......................................................... 108 Fortnightly Corporation v. United Artists Television, Inc. (1968) ..................... 110 Cable‘s Slow Rise and Reinvention (1970-84) ...................................................... 111 Commission Proposals for Regulation of Cable Television (1971) ................. 112 Cable Television Report and Order (1972) ..................................................... 113 HBO, Satellites and Copyright ........................................................................ 115 Cable Act of 1984 ........................................................................................... 117 Must-Carry Goes to Court ..................................................................................... 119 Quincy Cable TV, Inc. v. FCC (1983) ............................................................. 120 FCC Report and Order (1986) ........................................................................ 122 Century Communications Corporation v. FCC (1987) .................................... 123 1992 Cable Act ............................................................................................... 124 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 129 4 TURNER AND THE TEST OF TIME AND TECHNOLOGY .................................. 132 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 132 Must-Carry Becomes Law ..................................................................................... 134 Turner v. Federal Communications Commission (1997) ................................ 136 The Majority Plus Breyer ................................................................................ 138 Justice O‘Connor‘s Dissent ............................................................................ 140 Must-Carry and Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) ........................................... 143 The Digitalization of Broadcast Television ............................................................ 144 The Promise of DTV ....................................................................................... 145 Telecommunications Act of 1996 ................................................................... 147 DTV Implementation ....................................................................................... 147 Must-Carry Goes Digital ........................................................................................ 151 DTV Must-Carry Order ................................................................................... 152 Petitions for Reconsideration .......................................................................... 154 CATV and Public Television Reach Agreement ............................................. 156 The FCC‘s Digital Evolution .................................................................................. 159 The Martin Era (2005 – 2009) ........................................................................ 159 The Genachowski Era (2009 – Present)......................................................... 163