FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION July 24,2013 Mignon L. Clyburn Acting Chairwoman The Honorable John McCain United States Senate 241 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator McCain: Thank you for your letter concerning the marketing practices of multichannel video programming distributors. I appreciate your interest in this matter and am pleased to provide the enclosed letter on this issue from the Chief of the Media Bureau's Office of Communications and Industry Information. If you have any additional questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Mignon L. Clyburn Enclosure 445 12th Street S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 (202) 418-1000 Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 July 24, 2013 IN REPLY REFER TO: CN-1300608 The Honorable John McCain United States Senate 241 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator McCain: Thank you for your letter concerning the marketing practices of cable television system operators and satellite television carriers as well as other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). In particular, you believe that consumers would benefit if they had the option to select the programming provided by MVPDs on an individual channel, or "a La carte," basis. I appreciate the concern and opportunity to respond. As you know, no federal law prohibits cable television operators and satellite carriers from offering consumers all or most of their programming services on an a La carte basis. At the same time, except as expressly provided in the Communications Act, the Commission is not authorized to regulate the marketing practices of cable television operators and satellite carriers. For example, the Commission has, pursuant to provisions of the Communications Act, implemented rules for the mandatory carriage and retransmission of local broadcast television stations by MVPDs. The Commission also has adopted rules prohibiting cable television operators from requiring consumers to purchase a tier of service (other than the basic service tier) in order to access pay-per-view or other per-channel offerings. However, the Commission does not have explicit authority to require MVPDs to provide service on an a La carte basis. As you recommend, the Commission has advanced policies that increase competition and consumer choice in the video programming marketplace whenever possible. Such measures include modifying the franchising procedures to facilitate the entry of competitive cable television providers, adopting rules to preclude exclusive contracts for video service in multiple­ dwelling units and other residential settings and instituting changes to expedite the review of program carriage complaints. These and other Commission policies have helped support the emergence of a number of alternative video content sources in recent years. Many broadcast and non-broadcast programming producers now make programming available to the public on their websites. In addition, consumer-directed technologies, such as video streaming services and other over-the-top video applications, allow subscribers to watch individual broadcast and non­ broadcast programming on mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets) as well as on home Page 2 of 2-The Honorable John McCain television equipment. This proliferation of new technologies and distribution platforms has led many consumers to look beyond incumbent providers for access to video content. Please be assured that the Commission will continue to promote policies that increase competition and consumer choice in the marketplace for video programming. If I can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely,~'Lc..",-