STATEMENT OF ACTING CHAIRWOMAN MIGNON CLYBURN Re: Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming, MB Docket No. 12-203 I commend the staff for this comprehensive and timely report, which provides a useful snapshot of the video programming marketplace. I am encouraged by some of the pro-consumer trends it reveals. Options for accessing video programming are swelling. Nearly all consumers now have a choice among three multichannel video program distributors – or MVPDs, and today more than a one-third of all households can choose from four or more providers. Consumers can increasingly access content on a variety of devices that they own, such as tablets, video game systems, set-top boxes, and computers. Online video distribution is also thriving. In addition to allowing consumers to view video anywhere and anytime, these developments may also save consumers monthly on lease rates for equipment, as they are freed from renting set-top boxes. Indeed, all of these trends are leading to more choices in terms of programming packages and prices, and that’s great for consumers. However, I am concerned, because not all of our citizens are realizing the promise of these competitive benefits. Nearly 3 out of 10 rural Americans do not have access to high-speed Internet that is sufficient to receive online video distributors’ services, and I sincerely hope that these consumers are not forgotten as these services become more popular and offer more extensive programming. In this regard, I note that broadcast TV remains one of the most affordable sources of entertainment and news. As the Report shows, 11 million Americans still rely on free, over-the- air broadcast signals as their exclusive source for TV viewing. And multicasting is bringing additional programming to consumers, including networks and programming targeting minorities and niche audiences. Special thanks are due to everyone in the Media Bureau who worked on this exhaustive report, but I would like to single out Marcia Glauberman today, because she has worked on every competition report since 1995. I know that this report, like the previous ones that Marcia worked on, will be a valuable public resource for information about the video marketplace.