September 2007
At a late-night meeting on September 11, 2007, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) adopted a “viewability” rule that will govern cable carriage of must-carry stations after analog broadcasting terminates in 2009. The rule requires cable operators to deliver the primary digital stream of a must-carry television station in a manner that will permit it to be viewed by all cable subscribers after the transition to digital television occurs on February 17, 2009. Specifically, cable operators will be required to carry the primary digital stream of a must-carry station, and will be required to either provide the digital signal in analog format as well, or carry the signal only in digital format, but ensure that all subscribers have the necessary equipment toview the broadcast content on their particular television.
A PDF version of this entire article can be found at FCC Requires Cable Systems to Format Must-Carry Signals to Ensure “Viewability” on Both Analog and Digital Televisions After the Termination of Analog Broadcasts in 2009.