NCTA (association)

Last updated
NCTA
NCTA – The Internet & Television Association
Founded1952
Type Trade association
Location
  • 25 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20001
President and CEO [1]
Michael Powell
Website ncta.com
Formerly called
National Cable & Telecommunications Association

NCTA, formerly known as the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), is a trade association representing the broadband and cable television industries in the United States. As of 2011, NCTA represented more than 90% of the U.S. cable market, [2] over 200 cable networks, and various equipment suppliers and service providers to the cable industry.

Contents

NCTA is considered one of the most prominent lobbying organizations in the United States, having $14 million to lobbying efforts in 2021. [3] Regarding policy matters, NCTA has expressed opposition to net neutrality and municipal broadband proposals. Currently, the association is led by Michael Powell, a former Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). [4]

History

NCTA was initially established as the National Community Television Council in September 1951, when a small group of community antenna (CATV) operators convened in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Their gathering was prompted by concerns over the Internal Revenue Service's proposed 8% excise tax on their operations. In January 1952, the organization officially changed its name to the National Community Television Association.

As the CATV industry rapidly expanded, NCTA experienced parallel growth. Within its first year, nearly 40 CATV systems became members of the organization. By the end of the 1950s, membership had reached the hundreds, and by the end of the 1960s, it had expanded into the thousands. During the 1960s, the industry transitioned from using the term "Community Antenna Television (CATV)" to simply "cable," reflecting the broader range of services offered, including local news, weather information, and pay television channels. In 1968, NCTA underwent its first official name change, becoming the National Cable Television Association while retaining its acronym.

With the advent of global telecommunication satellites, the late 1970s and 1980s witnessed a significant surge in cable content. Entrepreneurs launched networks such as CNN, ESPN, MTV, BET, TBS, USA, Discovery, Lifetime, C-SPAN, and many others. Concurrently, major programming services across the nation joined NCTA, augmenting the organization's representation of cable interests in Washington.[ citation needed ]

To reflect the growing influence of cable internet and other types of two-way communication in the industry, the organization rebranded as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association in April 2001. [5] [6] Subsequently, on September 19, 2016, the organization changed its trade name to "NCTA – The Internet & Television Association", making "NCTA" an orphaned initialism to remove the reference to cable; NCTA president Michael Powell stated that the former name "underrepresents the breadth of what we are and what we do". [7] The organization had already taken steps to reduce its emphasis on cable by rebranding its annual convention from "The Cable Show" to "INTX: The Internet and Television Expo" in 2015. [7]

Leadership

NCTA operates under the guidance of a board of directors. In March 2012, the chairman of the board was Patrick Esser, serving as the president of Cox Communications. [8]

Michael Powell currently holds the position of president and CEO of NCTA. Powell assumed the role on April 25, 2011, succeeding Kyle McSlarrow, [9] who departed to join Comcast. Powell previously served as the head of the FCC. [10]

Past Presidents of NCTA
TermName
-1975: 377  [11] David Foster
1975-1979: 377  [11] Robert Schmidt
1979-1984 [12] Tom Wheeler
1984-1993 [13] James Mooney
1994-1999 [14] Decker Anstrom
1999-2005 [15] Robert Sachs
2005-2011 [16] [17] Kyle E. McSlarrow
2011–present [9] Michael Powell

Lobbying

NCTA is recognized as one of the most prominent lobbying organizations in the United States. In 2014, it allocated approximately $12.0 million for political lobbying. [18]

NCTA expressed opposition to the FCC's proposal to expand the definition of multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to include internet-based services. However, it stated that if the definition were expanded, internet delivery should be subject to the same obligations as traditional cable services. [19] NCTA President Michael Powell holds a stance against amending the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to enable a la carte pay television, citing potential impacts on smaller niche networks. [20]

In March 2014, NCTA voiced support for the FCC's decision to allocate 100 MHz of spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi services. [21]

Internet issues

NCTA has expressed its views on net neutrality, specifically objecting to the classification of internet service as a common carrier under Title II of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. In 2010, NCTA advised the FCC against formalizing its net neutrality rules. [22] After the rules were invalidated by the court in 2014, NCTA ran advertisements in the media opposing reclassification as a common carrier. [23] According to ProPublica in 2014, NCTA was privately associated with the "Onward Internet" campaign, which advocates for internet free from regulations. [24] In 2016, NCTA and the American Cable Association submitted petitions for en banc review of a ruling that upheld net neutrality rules, arguing against regulating cable internet systems in the same manner as "archaic telephone systems". [25]

NCTA supported the Stop Online Piracy Act of 2011, stating that it provided copyright owners with reasonable tools to protect their intellectual property. [26] NCTA objected to the FCC's decision to raise the minimum internet speed for Connect America Fund broadband subsidies from 4 Mbit/s to 10 Mbit/s, asserting that 4 Mbit/s was sufficient. [27]

Using a model bill developed by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), NCTA has advocated for legislation that prohibits or restricts municipal broadband in several states. [28] When President Barack Obama requested the FCC preempt these laws in January 2015, NCTA defended the legislation, contending that municipal projects often incur high costs and prove unsuccessful. [29]

NCTA President Michael Powell has advocated for internet service providers to expand their usage of data caps on internet usage, [30] with the aim of promoting fairness rather than alleviating network congestion. [31]

Events and subsidiaries

INTX

NCTA organizes an annual conference called INTX: The Internet and Television Expo (formerly The Cable Show until 2015). [1] It was the largest trade show in the United States for the cable and broadband industry. The conference featured discussions with current and former FCC commissioners, including remarks from the FCC chair in multiple years. [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]

During INTX, NCTA presented the Vanguard Awards, which were nominated by NCTA members and selected by a committee consisting of members from the NCTA Board of Directors and previous award recipients. [37]

In September 2016, NCTA announced the discontinuation of INTX. Powell described the trade shows as outdated and highlighted the importance of contemporary venues that foster conversation, dialogue, and more intimate interactions with technology. Attendance had been declining due to industry consolidation, making the trade show less necessary. [38]

CableACE Awards

From 1978 to 1997, NCTA supported the CableACE Award, which aimed to recognize excellence in American cable television programming. The CableACE Award served as a counterpart to the Emmy Awards, which did not previously acknowledge cable programming. However, after 1997, the Emmys began to include cable television programming, leading to the discontinuation of the CableACE Awards.

Cable in the Classroom

The association also oversees Cable in the Classroom, which is the education foundation of the cable industry.

Walter Kaitz Foundation

NCTA is responsible for managing and overseeing the Walter Kaitz Foundation, which aims to promote diversity in the cable industry's workforce, supplier chain, content, and marketing.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Communications Commission</span> Independent U.S. government agency

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access, fair competition, radio frequency use, media responsibility, public safety, and homeland security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet service provider</span> Organization that provides access to the Internet

An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privately owned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadband</span> Data transmission concept

In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission medium can be coaxial cable, optical fiber, wireless Internet (radio), twisted pair cable, or satellite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Powell (lobbyist)</span> American politician

Michael Kevin Powell is an American attorney and lobbyist who served as the 24th chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Since leaving office, Powell has since worked as the president of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), a broadband industry trade association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediacom</span> American cable TV company

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the United States' fifth largest cable television provider based on the number of video subscribers, and among the leading cable operators focused on serving smaller cities and towns. The company has a significant concentration of customers in the Midwest and Southeast, and is the largest broadband provider in Iowa. Founded in 1995 by Rocco B. Commisso, the current owner of the New York Cosmos and ACF Fiorentina. Mediacom is headquartered in New York and incorporated in Delaware, United States. Formerly a publicly traded firm, it went private in a $600 million transaction in March 2011 and is owned solely by Commisso as of 2011.

<i>National Cable & Telecommunications Assn v. Brand X Internet Services</i> 2005 United States Supreme Court case

National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X Internet Services, 545 U.S. 967 (2005), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that decisions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on how to regulate Internet service providers are eligible for Chevron deference, in which the judiciary defers to an administrative agency's expertise under its governing statutes. While the case concerned routine regulatory processes at the FCC and applied to interpretations of the Communications Act of 1934 and Telecommunications Act of 1996, the ruling has become an important precedent on the matter of regulating network neutrality in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CTIA (organization)</span> Trade association

CTIA is a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States. The association was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership organization, and represents wireless carriers and suppliers, and manufacturers and providers of wireless products and services.

Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. Most cable viewers in the U.S. reside in the suburbs and tend to be middle class; cable television is less common in low income, urban, and rural areas.

In the United States, net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate, has been an issue of contention between network users and access providers since the 1990s. With net neutrality, ISPs may not intentionally block, slow down, or charge money for specific online content. Without net neutrality, ISPs may prioritize certain types of traffic, meter others, or potentially block traffic from specific services, while charging consumers for various tiers of service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the United States</span> Overview of the Internet in the United States of America

The Internet in the United States grew out of the ARPANET, a network sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense during the 1960s. The Internet in the United States in turn provided the foundation for the worldwide Internet of today.

AllVid was a proposal to develop technology enabling smart broadband-connected video devices to access the content on the managed networks of cable operators, telcos, and satellite-TV operators. It was initially proposed in the U.S. Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) National Broadband Plan in 2010. The AllVid hardware would act as a universal adapter for all types of pay TV content such as video-on-demand and pay-per-view, as well as interactive programming guides, delivered through a wide variety of means, including cable TV, satellite TV, VDSL, IPTV, and Internet TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Attwell Baker</span> American lawyer

Meredith Attwell Baker is the president and chief executive officer of CTIA, an industry trade group that represents the international wireless telecommunications industry. From 2009 to 2011, Baker was a member of the United States Federal Communications Commission, nominated by U.S. President Barack H. Obama. She also served in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as a political appointee, and was subsequently named a deputy assistant secretary of the Commerce Department by President George W. Bush in February 2007.

Full Channel, Inc. was an American pay television and telecommunications provider set in Rhode Island. At the time of its acquisition by CountryWide Broadband it was the third-largest cable television and Internet service provider in the state. Its wired communications network was available to the approximately 50,000 residents of Bristol County, Rhode Island. Full Channel's main office was at 57 Everett Street in Warren, Rhode Island, U.S.

The 2016 United States wireless spectrum auction, officially known as Auction 1001, allocated approximately 100 MHz of the United States Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum formerly allocated to UHF television in the 600 MHz band. The spectrum auction and subsequent reallocations were authorized by Title VI of the payroll tax cut extension passed by the United States Congress on February 17, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Wheeler</span> American businessman and politician (born 1946)

Thomas Edgar Wheeler is an American businessman and former government official. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

<i>Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC</i> (2014)

Verizon Communications Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission, 740 F.3d 623, was a case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacating portions of the FCC Open Internet Order of 2010, which the court determined could only be applied to common carriers and not to Internet service providers. The case was initiated by Verizon, which would have been subjected to the proposed FCC rules, though they had not yet gone into effect. The case has been regarded as an important precedent on whether the FCC can regulate network neutrality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attempted purchase of Time Warner Cable by Comcast</span>

On February 13, 2014, Comcast Corporation announced its intent to acquire Time Warner Cable. The deal was proposed to take the form of a stock swap, estimated at the time of announcement to be worth about $45.2 billion. The two companies argued that the merger would increase their overall scale, allowing the company to become more competitive, improve customer service quality, and quicken innovation. The companies also argued that the deal would increase competition in the United States' cable television and internet markets, as they planned to divest subscribers to Charter Communications to regulate the market share of their combined operation.

Net neutrality law refers to laws and regulations which enforce the principle of net neutrality.

<i>United States Telecom Association v. FCC</i> (2016)

United States Telecom Association v. FCC, 825 F. 3d 674, was a case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding an action by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the previous year in which broadband Internet was reclassified as a "telecommunications service" under the Communications Act of 1934, after which Internet service providers (ISPs) were required to follow common carrier regulations.

The California Internet Consumer Protection and Net Neutrality Act of 2018 is a law in California designed to protect net neutrality. It was signed into law on September 30, 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 Kent Gibbons (19 Sep 2014). "NCTA: 'Cable Show' Convention Becoming INTX". MultiChannelNews. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  2. ↑ Jim Puzzanghera (15 Mar 2011). "Former FCC Chairman Michael Powell named to lead cable TV's top lobbying group". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 Jan 2015.
  3. ↑ Marek, Sue (2023-05-09). "Marek's Take: Telecom operators rack up big fees to pay lobbyists". FierceWireless. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  4. ↑ Eggerton, John (2022-07-28). "Net Neutrality Bill Is Nuclear Option, Says NCTA's Michael Powell". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2023-05-09.
  5. ↑ "NCTA name change is official". Broadcasting & Cable. 30 Apr 2001. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  6. ↑ "NCTA Changes Name". MediaPost. 3 May 2001. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  7. 1 2 "NCTA Rebrand Drops 'Cable,' Adds 'Internet'". Multichannel News. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Current Board of Directors for the National Cable & Telecommunications Association". National Cable & Telecommunications Association. March 27, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Katy Bachman (15 Mar 2011). "Michael Powell to Head NCTA (Updated)". AdWeek. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  10. ↑ NCTA Names Powell President, Multichannel News, March 15, 2011. Archived March 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. 1 2 Patrick Parsons (5 Apr 2008). Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television. Temple University Press.
  12. ↑ K.C. Neel (26 Oct 2009). "Always Ahead of the Curve. (Core Capital Partners managing director Tom Wheeler)". Archived from the original on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 21 Jan 2015.
  13. ↑ Todd Spangler (24 Dec 2012). "James Mooney, Former NCTA Chief, Dead at 69". MultiChannelNews. Retrieved 21 Jan 2015.
  14. ↑ Mike Farrell (21 Jan 2015). "Anstrom Named 2015 Bresnan Ethics Award Recipient". MultiChannelNews. Retrieved 21 Jan 2015.
  15. ↑ John M. Higgins (21 Jun 2004). "Sachs Exits NCTA". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 21 Jan 2015.
  16. ↑ Bill McConnell (25 Jan 2005). "McSlarrow Named to Head NCTA". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 21 Jan 2015.
  17. ↑ Ted Hearn (20 Jan 2005). "NCTA's Mr. Right". MultiChannel News. Retrieved 26 Jan 2015.
  18. ↑ "National Cable & Telecommunications Assn: Summary". Open Secrets. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  19. ↑ John Eggerton (19 Mar 2014). "NCTA To Senate: STELA Can Be Used For Retrans, Video Market Changes". MultiChannelNews. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  20. ↑ Spangler, Todd (2013-05-14). "McCain: Pay TV Business Is Rigged Against Consumers". Variety. Retrieved 2019-01-08.
  21. ↑ Steve Donohue (31 Mar 2014). "Comcast, NCTA cheer FCC 5 GHz Wi-Fi order". Fierce Telecom. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  22. ↑ John Eggerton (12 Oct 2010). "NCTA Opposes Net Neutrality Rules". MultiChannelNews. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  23. ↑ Tony Romm (29 Dec 2014). "Net neutrality to dominate D.C.'s tech agenda". Politico. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  24. ↑ Robert Faturechi (9 Oct 2014). "Mysterious Campaign Appears to be the Latest Salvo in Battle Over Net Neutrality". Pro Publica. Retrieved 1 Jan 2015.
  25. ↑ "Broadband industry tries again to kill net neutrality and Title II". Ars Technica. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Chloe Albanesius (1 Nov 2011). "Will Online Piracy Bill Combat 'Rogue' Web Sites or Cripple the Internet?". PC Magazine. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  27. ↑ Jon Brodkin (11 Dec 2014). "Ignoring AT&T and Verizon protests, FCC says "broadband" has to be 10Mbps". Ars Technica. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  28. ↑ Jon Brodkin (12 Feb 2014). "ISP lobby has already won limits on public broadband in 20 states". Ars Technica. Retrieved 16 Jan 2015.
  29. ↑ Todd Shields and Margaret Talev (14 Jan 2015). "Obama Touts Well-Wired Iowa Town as Model for City-Run Web". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 Jan 2015.
  30. ↑ Brad Reed (23 Oct 2013). "Top cable lobbyist urges more ISPs to slap users with data caps". BGR. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  31. ↑ John Eggerton (17 Jan 2013). "NCTA's Powell: Usage-Based Pricing About Fairness, Not Capacity". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 30 Dec 2014.
  32. ↑ "FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski to Appear at The Cable Show 2010" (Press release). NCTA. PR Newswire. 24 Mar 2010. Retrieved 11 Jan 2015.
  33. ↑ John Eggerton (15 Jun 2011). "The Cable Show 2011: Genachowski: Broadband Adoption 'Just Not Good Enough'". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved 11 Jan 2015.
  34. ↑ Alex Ben Block (22 May 2012). "Cable Show 2012: NCTA President Praises FCC's Broadband Campaign". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 Jan 2015.
  35. ↑ Mariko Hewer (11 Jun 2013). "FCC's Clyburn emphasizes importance of increasing broadband, digital literacy". Fierce Cable. Retrieved 11 Jan 2015.
  36. ↑ Alex Ben Block (30 Apr 2014). "NCTA 2014: FCC Chairman Tells Cable to Expand Broadband but Ensure Fair and Reasonable Access". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 Jan 2015.
  37. ↑ CABLE SHOW: The 2008 Vanguard Awards
  38. ↑ "NCTA Ends Annual Cable Trade Show, Cancels 2017 INTX Event". Variety. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.