Major cable television programmers, including C-SPAN, Discovery Communications and The Weather Channel, have filed suit to block the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) enforcement of viewability rules on cable systems. Cable networks oppose the FCC's viewability rules, which require cable operators that have both analog and digital cable subscribers to carry both an analog and digital stream of local must-carry stations after the digital television (DTV) transition. Cable operators, none of which are parties to the suit, are exempt from the rules if they operate all-digital cable systems.

The cable programmers argue that the FCC's viewability rules are a violation of the First Amendment. They claim that adoption of these rules would result in cable operators' unavoidable abandonment of cable networks in order to accommodate certain television stations that require duplicative carriage rights.

NAB adamantly supports the FCC's adoption of viewability rules, as expressed by President and CEO David K. Rehr in a letter sent to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin last week.

"Without rules ensuring the viewability of must-carry stations, many small, foreign language, and religious broadcasts will go dark on some cable systems after the transition, disenfranchising millions of dedicated viewers that rely on cable companies to provide local stations without discrimination or material degradation," said Rehr.

The entire letter can be read in PDF format here.