Debate Goes on Concerning DBS, Cable Competition

[Gregg Lengling]

Late last week, the debate over the competitive landscape for the multichannel business heated up at the Federal Communications Commission, with two distinct sides taking shape concerning how effective competitors such as satellite TV are battling cable incumbents.

In its comments on competition, Comcast told the FCC that the video marketplace is "robustly competitive, with consumers enjoying a growing slate of options for multichannel video services, video rentals and sales, movie downloads and other forms of video streaming, and other means for accessing video programming." It also pointed to the recent DBS successes, in which DirecTV added 445,000 customers during the second quarter and EchoStar's DISH Network enrolled 340,000 during the same three-month period.

"It is clear that competition in the video marketplace is vibrant and evolving at a pace previously unmatched," Comcast said in its comments. "With all of this competition, no competitor can sit idly."

Comcast said it and other cable operators continue to respond to competition by providing more programming, deploying advanced services, improving customer satisfaction, and seeking to attract and retain customers. "The beneficiaries of all this competition, of course, are American consumers," the nation's largest MSO said.

Others disagreed with Comcast's notion on competition. In their joint filing, the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors and the Alliance for Community Media asked the FCC to reject cable industry efforts to achieve less regulation, and it urged the commission to revise its effective competition standards to conform it with market realities.

"The major incumbent multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) insist that de-control of the cable industry is appropriate at this time because DBS now provides vigorous competition on a national scale," the organizations said in their filing. "To be sure, DBS is becoming increasingly popular, but neither formal de-control or ... effective de-control is warranted at this time."

Last week, satellite TV interests also voiced concern with cable industry efforts to change the competitive landscape. (For story, see: http://www.skyreport.com/viewskyreport.cfm?ReleaseID=1472.)