The Federal Communications Commission has proposed to eliminate a rule adopted in 1972 that requires cable operators to maintain at their local office a current listing of the cable television channels that each cable system delivers to its subscribers.
The Commission has tentatively concluded that this requirement, set forth in Section 76.1705 of the Commission’s rules, is no longer necessary or useful now that channel lineup information is readily available through other means, including, in many cases, the websites of cable operators, on-screen electronic program guides, and paper guides.
The NPRM also seeks comment on whether the Commission should eliminate the requirement in Section 76.1700(a)(4) of its rules that certain cable operators make their channel lineup available via their online public inspection file or instead require these operators to put channel lineup information on their own website. Finally, the Commission asks what the channel lineup requirements for small cable operators should be if Section 76.1705 is eliminated.
Comments on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be due 30 days after the item is published in the Federal Register, which has not yet occurred.
