FCC Cable Regulation Vote Delayed > FCC vote on cable scrapped

Mr. Martin said the report as it stands would be withdrawn, and that he is now trying to find support for an alternative that would compel cable operators to provide data to the FCC about their market share.

In what analysts say was an embarrassing climb-down for Mr. Martin, the move is effectively an admission that the report he backed will be scrapped.

Public interest groups, which had been strongly pushing for the report, said that the apparent defeat would mean that Mr. Martin's efforts to attempt to add more regulation to the cable industry would be forced to end.

"Martin's cable agenda is certainly dead for the near term," said Harold Feld, senior vice president with Media Access Project, a public interest group. "The real question is whether he will now be seen as a lame duck chairman." Mr. Feld's group had been aggressively lobbying for the change, and he admitted he was disappointed that Mr. Martin had been unable to convince a majority of commissioners.

Analysts said analysis based on data provided by the companies themselves would be unlikely to make Mr. Martin's case for him.

"As the commission gathers more data from the industry directly, I don't think the 70/70 threshold will be triggered," said Afzaal Akhtar, a partner with IBB Consulting.

A separate proposal that would have drastically reduced the rates that cable operators can charge groups for access to spare channels has also failed to be approved by commissioners. Mr. Martin said he "wasn't sure" whether that proposal had the requisite support. This would have also created an arbitration scheme to settle disputes between cable companies and independent programmers.

For cable, the disarray at the FCC is definitely a reason to celebrate.