A federal appeals court has struck down FCC limitations on cable ownership, perhaps opening the door to a new round of megamergers among pay TV-operators.
Since 1993, the FCC has barred cable companies from owning systems that serve more than 30 percent of households in the United States. Now, with the ruling overturned for the second time in eight years, the cable industry is free to compete with more agility against satellite and telco rivals.
Comcast Corp. earlier this year sued to reverse the FCC ruling, which was reinforced two years ago. Time Warner Cable challenged the rule in 2001.
Cable associations and free-market advocates alike praised the appeals court decision. Ken Ferree, president of the Progress & Freedom Foundation think tank, called the D.C. Circuit Court “”a backstop of rationality when the administrative agencies run amok.”
