January 23, 2018 - Member Issue

ACA SUMMIT Summit Networking: Colleagues, Business Solutions and Industry Leaders

In addition to advocating on behalf of your business and customers, ACA's Summit provides the ideal forum for networking with independent cable operators, industry leaders and vendors from across the country. To date, nearly 50 companies have confirmed participation in ACA's 25th Summit as exhibitors and sponsors, providing you with one more reason to attend the Summit. Your all-inclusive registration will include access to a Master Class on industry compensation trends conducted by the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA), all general sessions, the exhibit hall, ACA's 25th Anniversary Dinner at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a moonlight monument tour, lobbying on Capitol Hill and breakfast, lunch and dinner on March 21 and 22. Follow the ACA Summit Twitter (@ACASummit) for upcoming panel and speaker announcements! Register to attend!

A+E Networks Adara Technologies Inc. Advanced Media Technologies Alianza Amdocs Management LTD Cinnamon Mueller Collection Bureau of the Hudson Crown Media Family Networks Discovery Communications Valley eClerx Customer Operations Ervin Cable Construction Evolution Digital EWTN Global Catholic Network GDI Technology Gone Viral TV iGLASS Networks Innovative Systems INSP JSI Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Kids Central MAVTV Motorsports Network MAXXIAN NBCUniversal NCTI NISC Open Vault Outdoor Sportsman Group OVATION PAC-12 Networks Pat Thompson Co. Prime Media Productions QVC REELZ Relay Network REVOLT TV Scripps Networks Interactive SES Sterner Energy TBN Networks The Weather Channel Turner TV ONE Viacom Vivicast Media VENDORS: Is your company name on the list? Or more importantly, is your competitor's? Don't miss this opportunity to visit with decisionmakers of leading independent cable businesses from across the country! Only a few exhibit spaces and sponsorships remain! Contact Stacey Leech at [email protected] to make sure that your company is part of this milestone event!

KEY DEVELOPMENTS ACA Urges FCC To Strengthen Program Access Rules Following Expiration Of Comcast-NBCU Conditions American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on Jan. 22 regarding the expiration of the Federal Communications Commission's Comcast-NBC Universal merger conditions two days ago:

"After working to protect competition and consumers for seven years, the FCC's 'merger conditions' on Comcast- NBCUniversal expired on Saturday, January 20, 2018, without review. ACA believes it is in the best interests of consumers and competition for the FCC to examine and then address the harms that a 'vertically integrated' Comcast-NBCU can cause - the same harms that led the Department of Justice (DOJ) to seek to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

"In 2011, the FCC and DOJ each found that Comcast's acquisition of NBCU would harm competition by combining NBCU's 'must have' video programming with Comcast's distribution network. The FCC and DOJ permitted Comcast to buy NBCU - but only if the parties abided by a series of conditions that ostensibly would alleviate the competitive harms. ACA participated extensively in the review of the Comcast-NBCU transaction, and, although we preferred even stronger governmental restrictions, we believed that the conditions imposed could help prevent the worst harms." Read more

ACA Welcomes Introduction Of House Resolutions On Principles Of Broadband Infrastructure American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on Jan. 12 in response to the introduction by members of the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of a series of resolutions that establish principles for promoting broadband infrastructure by removing barriers to buildout, supporting innovation, and focusing on areas that need it most:

"ACA welcomes the 'Principles for Broadband Infrastructure' set forth by House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and her colleagues, Reps. Leonard Lance of New Jersey, Bob Latta of Ohio, Richard Hudson of North Carolina, and Gus Bilirakis of Florida.

"The principles are sound, providing clear direction to address our nation's Rep. Marsha Blackburn broadband infrastructure concerns. The country needs to remove barriers that stand in the way of broadband investment and deployment. We need to ensure that federal, state, and local taxes and fees, permitting and other government requirements actually facilitate deployment. And, we need to ensure that we have support programs that are targeted to bringing service to unserved locations." Read more

ACA Urges FCC To Facilitate Pole Overlashings By Codifying Decades-Old Precedent Broadband deployment in all areas of the country would be expedited and more expansive if the Federal Communications Commission codified its longstanding, well-established precedent prohibiting pole-owing utilities from imposing unreasonable conditions and demanding fees on broadband providers that want to tie additional cables and related equipment to the cables that are already attached to a utility pole, a practice known as overlashing.

In comments filed with the FCC, ACA provided examples of its members confronting unreasonable overlashing barriers as a result of unlawful conduct by pole owners. For instance, an ACA member in Iowa reported that a utility in its territory required all overlashing projects to go through the full pole attachment application process lasting 35 to 40 days, regardless of size or complexity - even though current FCC rules say this isn't required.

"The law is clear that overlashing is not subject to application requirements, prior utility approvals, or unrelated or otherwise unwarranted charges. Yet, far too often, utilities hinder or even thwart overlashing activities that are consistent with generally accepted engineering practices. Accordingly, the FCC should step in and codify existing law permitting overlashing without needing utility approvals or paying additional charges," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said. Read more ACA FILING 1/17 FCC Comments re Accelerating Wireline Broadband Deployment by Removing Barriers to Infrastructure

ACA Congratulates Brendan Carr On His FCC Nomination

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew M. Polka issued the following statement on Jan. 10 regarding President Donald J. Trump's nomination of Commissioner Brendan Carr to a full, five-year term on the Federal Communications Commission:

"ACA congratulates FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on his nomination to a full, five-year term at the agency. ACA members have found that Commissioner Carr has an excellent understanding of communications markets and the key forces that will stimulate investment and expand the economy in ways that benefit all Americans. Commissioner Carr understands that facilitating broadband deployments of ACA members creates good-paying jobs and provides the connectivity that allows other businesses to thrive, particularly in smaller market and rural areas. Brendan Carr Commissioner Carr also has demonstrated a keen grasp of public policy and ways it can work to serve the public interest. Accordingly, ACA looks forward to working with Commissioner Carr in the future and urges the Senate to confirm his nomination as soon as possible."

ACA IN THE NEWS Business As Usual For Corporate Broadcasters Is Killing Cable

The following Op-Ed was written by ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka and published on Jan. 17, 2018 by The Hill, a website that extensively covers Capitol Hill, the White House and the Federal Communications Commission: Cable companies and corporate broadcasters recently concluded their latest round of retransmission consent negotiations in December, but don't let the absence of many high-profile blackouts and screaming headlines fool you. Once again, corporate media conglomerates have walked away from the negotiating table and will line their pockets with consumers' hard- earned cash while cable companies take the heat for broadcasters' greed. The system created by federal law about 25 years ago is undeniably broken and is only getting worse. It's time for Washington to step in and fix it.

It's tempting to think that just because cable companies reached TV station carriage deals with broadcasters that the negotiations and their results are satisfactory to those involved. Make no mistake: These are not fair negotiations - in some cases, they're not negotiations at all.

We recently surveyed our small and mid-sized cable operator members, who serve rural America and urban markets as competition to larger operators, to get their take on the "retrans" process. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed expressed concern that broadcasters employ a "take it or leave it" approach to retrans negotiations. "...This is essentially not a negotiation - it is an agreement forced on us," offered one member. Another characterized retransmission consent negotiations as "extreme bullying and take it or leave it attitude." Read more

ACA FILINGS ACA has been actively representing independent cable in many other ways and on many issues in Washington, D.C. Those efforts are described in the filings, letters, and testimonies linked below for your review: 1/12 FCC Ex Parte re Expanding Flexible Use in Mid-Band Spectrum Between 3.7 and 24 GHz w/ International Bureau, Wireless Telecom Bureau, and Office of Engineering and Technology For all ACA filings, letters, and testimonies, please the ACA website.

CINNAMON MUELLER REGULATORY UPDATE ● FCC Reminds MVPDs of Increased Video Description Requirements Read more: (Member Login Required - Scroll To Regulatory Updates Block)

NEWS HEADLINES Cable ONE Goes Gig-Wide (Light Reading, 1/19) Add Cable ONE to the growing list of cable operators offering gigabit broadband speeds. But, in typical Cable ONE fashion, the MSO is going about that task in its own unique way. Cable ONE announced that it now offers gigabit service to 95% of the nearly 1.7 million homes passed in its legacy footprint. Wave Equips Calif. School District With Dark Fiber (Fierce Telecom, 1/12) Wave Broadband's business division has connected 39 Modesto, Calif., school facilities to the district's data center hub with dark fiber, giving the competitive provider a foundation to attract local businesses and other wholesale carrier customers. Starz Files Emergency FCC Petition To Restore Altice Carriage (Fierce Cable, 1/19) Premium cable programmer Starz filed another petition with the FCC, urging the agency to intervene in a carriage dispute that has seen 16 Starz, StarzEncore and MoviePlex premium channels blacked out on Altice USA's Cablevision system Optimum since the turn of the new year. Mediacom Receives 'Best Company' Honors (Apache Junction Independent, 1/20) Mediacom Communications earned high rankings within the cable and telecommunications industry as one of the top companies for women to work and as a top employer for people of color. Women in Cable Telecommunications named Mediacom as a "2017 Best Company for Women to Work," based on survey data collected to measure gender-inclusion practices and the status of women employees in the cable industry.

Senate Panel OKs FCC's Carr For Full Term (The Hill, 1/18) The Senate Commerce Committee voted to confirm Commissioner Brendan Carr for a full five-year term at the FCC. The panel advanced the nomination in a 14-13 party-line vote. Carr, a Republican, was nominated and confirmed in August to a partial term that was set to expire later this year." CassComm: All Lawful Data Will Be Treated Equally (Journal Courier, 1/9) Cass Communications said it will continue to respect the Net Neutrality regulations set in 2015 under former President Barrack Obama. Chad Winters, vice president of cable TV services for CassComm, said there would be no push to block content from customers. FCC Ponders ATSC 3.0 Carriage Flexibility (Broadcasting & Cable, 1/16) The FCC has sent deadlines of Feb. 20 for comments and Mar. 20 for replies on several questions it raised as part of its decision to approve a framework for rolling out the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast TV standard. Among the issues at stake are whether a station can get out from under the simulcasting mandate for the new transmissions, and how stations will be carried by cable operators. CountryWide Broadband Buys Full Channel Cable (Press Release, 1/16) CountryWide Broadband Group, a St. Louis-based broadband acquisition and management firm, has continued its expansion by acquiring Full Channel Cable of Rhode Island, and by expanding its all-fiber, i3 Broadband network in the greater Peoria and Champaign-Urbana, Illinois markets by more than 25% so far this year. States Sue FCC Over Net Neutrality Repeal (The Hill, 1/16) Twenty-two attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against the FCC over the agency's repeal of its Net Neutrality rules. "Internet access is a utility - just like water and electricity," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said in a statement." Charter Moving 11 Viacom Channels To Most Expensive Tier - TV Answer Man Charter will move 11 Viacom-owned channels to its most expensive tier (Gold), and eight Viacom channels to its least expensive plan (Select). Charter has informed customers service representatives of the channel changes. The moves stem from the new carriage agreement between Charter and Viacom signed last November. ACACTION BRIEF TOP THREE Most-Clicked Links From Jan. 9 ACAction Brief 1. ACA Member Survey: Broadcasters Use Aggressive Bully Tactics In Retrans 2. Google Blocks YouTube From Working on Amazon Fire Devices 3. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Cancels Vegas/CES Trip Because Of Death Threats

ASSOCIATE MEMBER SPOTLIGHT We applaud these vendors and service providers for supporting independent cable and ACA:

Robert Schwietz David Duff Mark Sterner Vice President of Business VP, Content Distribution Partner Development 646.937.0756 215.536.1739 917.634.6282 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

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