Data currently available for publicly-reporting companies for the first half of 1994, while not comprehensive, suggests that subscribership and capital investment have increased from 1993 levels. Data for 1994 for companies that are not publicly-reporting, including most small cable companies, are currently unavailable. Cable Market Power. The market for the distribution of multichannel video programming remains heavily concentrated at the local level. For most consumers cable television is the only provider of multichannel video programming.
Cable systems continue to have substantial market power at the local distribution level.
However, alternative distribution technologies have made substantial strides since the Commission's 1990 Report to Congress. Press reports suggest that initial demand for the equipment necessary to receive the service has exceeded supply. Pending applications propose to provide VDT service to over eight and a half million homes throughout the United States. Vertical integration has continued in the industry at roughly the same level as in 1990, with cable MSOs continuing to invest in video programming vendors. The need continues for the Commission's program access and program carriage rules to guard against potential abuses resulting from such investment.