FCC Hails Court's Cable Decision, The Telecomm Analyst News

Business Wire, June 7, 2000

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2000

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently upheld key provisions of the 1992 Cable Competition Act that place significant limits on industry mergers. The decision is a major victory for the Federal Communications Commission.

Chairman William Kennard said the ruling "validated laws that promote programming diversity and protect consumers against undue consolidation in the cable television marketplace." Mr. Kennard noted that because of the decision, the Commission has lifted the stay of its rules on cable horizontal ownership.

The case addressed the 1992 Act's "subscriber limits provision," which directs the FCC to restrict the number of subscribers a cable operator may reach. Time Warner (NYSE-TWX) argued that no matter how carefully the provision is implemented, it violates the First Amendment.

To find out more about this week's Analyst's DC Buzz, read the article in Multex.com's The Telecomm Analyst(sm), http://www.telecommanalyst.com/individual/000606sections/dcbuzz.asp

Companies profiled:

Time Warner (NYSE-TWX)

http://www.multexinvestor.com/af001215/tickersearch.asp?Ticker=twx