Today begins the
new FCC presumption that local pay-tv markets are effectively competition. Moving forward, municipalities can regulate
basic cable rates only by requesting to do so and accompanied by proof of a
lack of competition in the local market.
But, with DBS ubiquitously deployed (AT&T/DirecTV and Dish) and telephone
entry (Fios and AT&T U-verse) in many markets over the past two-decades, that
will be hard to prove. Nationwide, of
the 90M+ pay-tv subscribers slightly less than half get service from a
non-cable provider. Proof of
competition, right? Yes, but, the expansion
of indirect substitutes creates the greatest threat to pay-tv providers and the
reason why regulation of basic cable rates is no longer necessary.
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