[EAS] Cable TV Problems

[Sean Donelan]

On Tue, 29 Nov 2011, David Ostmo wrote:
> I agree with Richard Rudman; the default should be for cable systems to 
> exclude local broadcasters.
>
> One other thought; many broadcasters overlook cable systems when 
> talking about EAS.  Cable operators play an important role in EAS and 
> need to be included in all discussions of local, state and national 
> plans.

This list is composed primarily of broadcasters, so you won't hear much
from any other side here.  Likewise cable lists are composed primarily of
cable engineers, so you won't hear much about broadcaster problems there 
either.

If you go back to the FCC rulemaking, they have extensive footnotes.  The 
group most opposed to allowing cable systems to selectively exclude local 
broadcasters was local emergency officials.  They wrote a lot of comments 
about how local cable franchise terms include local override, while 
broadcasters do not have to carry local emergency messages.  Although a 
few broadcasters may carry some local emegency messages, others don't 
carry any. Local emergency officials submitting comments ranged from 
small towns to largest cities.

The FCC appears to have split the difference between the competing 
opinions, broadcasters, cable systems and local emergency officials.
On the other hand, direct satellite broadcasters, which don't have local 
franchise override requirements, the FCC rules are split the opposite way
and require excluding local broadcasters from EAS overrides.

Should broadcasters be required to carry all local emergency messages in 
exchange for cable systems excluding those channels from local franchise
override requirements?