Ownership of the media is just one small part of a massive bill. Congress would open phone service to competition, free cable rates, let phone companies carry video and set up a method-the so-called V-chip- for parents to block out violent TV shows. But despite flowery language about deregulation and competition, the House bill and a separate Senate version are stuffed with clauses that could limit choices, drive up prices and make the big bigger.
Big isn’t always bad in the media biz. As companies like Disney, Viacom, Time Warner and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. try to bring programming, broadcasting and cable systems under a single roof, the public has more choices than ever. TV viewers now have six networks, not just three. There are 1,097 commercial TV stations, up from 691 in 1970, and nearly 100 national cable services, from the Adam & Eve Channel to the Weather Channel. Prefer radio? Since 1970, the number of stations has jumped 71 percent to 11,701. Last week’s network sell-a-thon came after the Feds stopped forcing the nets to buy independent programs; critics claimed this would reduce diversity, but viewers haven’t noticed. If NBC’s Co-lumbus, Ohio, affiliate passes from Outlet Communications to the network itself-another of last week’s deals-fans of “Frasier” will be hard pressed to tell.
It’s local merger mania that’s the real worry. As Congress defines “deregulation,” telephones and cables could compete, but they could also combine: your phone company could buy into your cable company or, in small towns, swallow it whole. The Senate would let your local cable operator own a local TV station,giving it a powerful voice in local politics. And cable systems could charge whatever the market would bear. What will keep them from hiking prices? In theory, they face new competitors, like direct-broadcast satellites. But look again. The law bars satellite systems from carrying your hometown over-the-air channels-and that’s one regulation Congress isn’t scrapping. As long as it stands, satellites can’t be true threats to cable.
The bills could help broadcasters stifle competition, too. Early next century, TV will go digital. Digital broadcasting brings a hidden bonanza: each station’s slice of the spectrum could carry separate signals for pagers, videogames and children’s shows alongside the regular program. More signals could mean more competitors. But “deregulation” would give today’s station owners exclusive control of all those newly available airwaves. “It’s the greatest land grab since they lined the wagons up in Oklahoma,” says Thomas Krattenmaker, a broadcast-law expert at the College of William and Mary. “At least there, everyone had a chance.”
In practical terms, this all has nothing to do with Disney’s bid for ABC. But the deal has changed the politics. On Friday the House revolted against its own leadership, passing a last-minute amendment to bar cable operators from owning local broadcasters. To avert Clinton’s veto, the House-Senate conference committee may be forced to leave more controls on cable and phone companies until competition is in place. The likely result is a more consumer-friendly bill. For that, Mickey deserves a bow.
