Steve Mehs
04-14-03, 05:57 AM
The American Cable Association (ACA) made more noise late last
week, this time taking aim at News Corp.'s proposed takeover
of Hughes and DirecTV.
The ACA, which represents small cable operators, said strict
federal oversight is required for the proposed deal between
News Corp. and DirecTV. If regulators don't carefully
scrutinize the transaction, the playing field in the
multichannel business "may unfairly lean even more toward the
giant, vertically integrated media conglomerate," the
association said.
Said ACA President Matt Polka, "Given the enormous vertical
integration of Fox/News Corp. and DirecTV, the Federal
Communications Commission, Congress and the Department of
Justice must be actively involved to ensure that this vertical
integration is not abused in any way."
Polka and the ACA said they're concerned Fox, the News Corp.
entity that would gain DirecTV once the deal is complete,
could use the vast amount of programming content it controls
to benefit its new distribution arm, which would be DirecTV,
against all other competitors.
"Equal access to programming is a vital issue for smaller,
independent cable businesses," Polka said. "Program access
is even more important now that Fox is no longer just a
formidable programmer, but also a formidable competitor."
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)
week, this time taking aim at News Corp.'s proposed takeover
of Hughes and DirecTV.
The ACA, which represents small cable operators, said strict
federal oversight is required for the proposed deal between
News Corp. and DirecTV. If regulators don't carefully
scrutinize the transaction, the playing field in the
multichannel business "may unfairly lean even more toward the
giant, vertically integrated media conglomerate," the
association said.
Said ACA President Matt Polka, "Given the enormous vertical
integration of Fox/News Corp. and DirecTV, the Federal
Communications Commission, Congress and the Department of
Justice must be actively involved to ensure that this vertical
integration is not abused in any way."
Polka and the ACA said they're concerned Fox, the News Corp.
entity that would gain DirecTV once the deal is complete,
could use the vast amount of programming content it controls
to benefit its new distribution arm, which would be DirecTV,
against all other competitors.
"Equal access to programming is a vital issue for smaller,
independent cable businesses," Polka said. "Program access
is even more important now that Fox is no longer just a
formidable programmer, but also a formidable competitor."
From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com) (Used with Permission)