page_title: Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph shows head-and-shoulders portrait of Goldwater.
context_page_description: The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 was an act of Congress passed on October 30, 1984 to promote competition and deregulate the cable television industry. The act established a national policy for the regulation of cable television communications by federal, state, and local authorities. Conservative Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona wrote and supported the act, which amended the Communications Act of 1934 with the insertion of "Title VI—Cable Communications". After more than three years of debate, six provisions were enacted to represent the intricate compromise between cable operators and municipalities.
context_section_description: In 1972, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued the Third Report and Order. The order was enacted to encourage consumer choice and innovation among video devices. The regulations adopted in the order established requirements for broadband, cellular, and wireline Personal Communications Services (PCS) carriers in compliance with the assistance capability requirements prescribed by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act. The FCC hoped that the newly adopted regulations would generate a competitive marketplace for various devices capable of accessing cable video services by allowing consumers to purchase smart video devices that were compatible with all multichannel video programming services. This would allow consumers the freedom to change service providers without changing their entertainment devices. The "Third Report and Order" resulted in the top 100 U.S. television markets providing three Public-access television channels, each for Public-access television, Educational-access, or Government-access television (GATV) (PEG) use. If demand was low for all three channels in a specific market, cable companies had the jurisdiction to supply fewer channels. At least one PEG channel was required at all times.
  In 1976, the regulation was expanded to include cable television systems in communities with 3,500 or more subscribers. Cable companies saw the regulation by the federal government as an unlawful intrusion into their business practices and immediately started to challenge its legality. In the court case United States v. Midwest Video Corp., the Midwest Video Corporation sued the FCC for overstepping its authority in requiring Public-access television channels. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the FCC's requirements for local origination facilities. However, in 1979,  the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Midwest Video Corp. stating that the FCC's new requirements exceeded the agency's statutory powers as granted to them by Congress and as required by cable operators to provide Public-access television. The FCC was interfering with the agency's First Amendment rights. After the Supreme Court's decision, PEG advocates started work on what became the Cable Communications Act of 1984.
  The need for an act to determine who holds regulatory authority for cable communications was quite evident, however it took time to reach an agreement. Negotiations for the act lasted nearly two years and agreements moved back and forth between the House and the Senate. The two parties involved in the negotiations were the National League of Cities (NLC) and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), formerly the National Cable Television Association. These parties worked to lobby Congress for their respective members, who represented diverse populations and had firm, unyielding interests. Instead of having Congress determine the outcome of a stalemate, the two organizations tried to present a unified front. This was a strategic move meant to increase the likelihood that the bill would be passed in both the House and the Senate.
  The act began as bill S. 66 in the Senate where it was passed on June 14, 1983 and moved on to the House. The companion bill, H.R. 4103, in the House was passed on October 1, 1984 and returned to the Senate where modifications were made to conjoin the texts. The bill was officially passed on October 11, 1984 and signed by President Ronald Reagan on October 30, 1984. During negotiations, the agreements were voided four times. The National League of Cities (NLC) voided agreements three times because cable companies were freed from rate regulation, given renewal expectancy, and could default on promises in certain circumstances. On the other hand, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NTCA) voided agreements once because they felt that another Supreme Court ruling would provide the industry with better rate deregulation than under the present FCC regulations or the bill.
caption: Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), the sponsor of the act.
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