Cable TV Firms Lose Appeal to Overturn FCC Regulations

Several big cable television companies seeking to overturn a group of government regulations lost a round on Friday in appellate court.

Time Warner Entertainment Co., Discovery Communications and the Learning Channel argued that Federal Communications Commission rules dictated by the Cable Act of 1992 violate the companies’ rights to freedom of speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia upheld the constitutionality of all but one of 11 rules that, among other things, oblige cable television operators to reserve some channels for unaffiliated programs and public use.

A decision on the remaining rule was postponed because it is the subject of separate litigation. That rule in part instructs the FCC to decide whether to limit the degree to which cable distributors may create and produce their own programming.

In the case before the court, the companies objected to nine provisions of a 1992 law and two provisions of a 1984 law regulating the telecommunications industry.

The companies argued that the rules put limits on the kinds of programming they can offer.

Among them is a measure that requires operators of direct broadcast satellite systems to reserve from 4% to 7% of channels for noncommercial educational or informational broadcasting.

A direct broadcast satellite service uses satellites to transmit signals to Earth, where consumers use small dishes to receive them. The system offers the potential of hundreds more channels than are available through cable.

The panel of three judges said there’s nothing wrong with the rule, noting that the government has a long-standing and legitimate interest in seeing that the public has a wide variety of programming to watch.

The decision was hailed as “another victory for kids” by FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.

“The court affirmed the constitutionality of rules setting aside channels for educational use,” he said.

Media Access Project, a nonprofit law firm that monitors the telecommunications industry, applauded the decision and said it hopes the same rule will be imposed on broadcasters.

But the National Cable Television Assn. said that although the rules may be constitutional, they may place unfair burdens when applied to specific cable operators.

The court upheld rules that regulate cable rates, require operators to set aside some channels for use by programmers unaffiliated with the operator and require them to carry public affairs, educational and governmental programs.