Citation[]
Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Pub. L. No. 1102-385, §2, 106 Stat. 1460 (1992), codified at 47 U.S.C. §536(a)(3), (5)).
Overview[]
The Act prohibited franchising authorities from awarding exclusive (or monopoly) franchises and required the FCC to establish regulations ensuring reasonable rates for both the basic cable service and the cable programming service tier (CPST), commonly referred to as expanded basic, for cable systems not subject to effective competition as defined by the Act; Congress passed the Act in response to increasing rates.
In addition, the Act required cable companies to carry all local television stations that requested carriage — known as must carry — or negotiate with television stations seeking compensation — known as retransmission consent. Cable companies that also produced content were required to provide their content to unaffiliated MVPDs at nondiscriminatory rates — known as program access.