CABLE Competition Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The CABLE Competition Act rewrites the Communications Act rules for sales or transfers of cable systems after a franchise revocation. If a franchising authority acquires a cable system or transfers ownership after revocation, the transaction must be at fair market value. A franchising authority may not prevent a cable operator from transferring a franchise to another person if the transferee agrees to accept the existing franchise terms. The authority may require written notice at least 15 days before the transfer, and the bill defines transfer broadly to include mergers, sales, assignments, lease arrangements, and other transactions transferring franchise rights. The bill gives cable operators and buyers more ability to preserve value and complete transactions while limiting local franchising authorities' leverage over transfer approval.
Who Benefits and How
Cable providers benefit because revoked systems must be valued at fair market value and franchise transfers cannot be categorically blocked. Cable system investors benefit because they can acquire franchise rights if they accept existing franchise terms. Cable investors benefit from clearer transfer rules that protect system value during sales, mergers, or assignments. Cable subscribers may benefit if transfer flexibility keeps a system operating instead of leaving a revoked franchise in limbo.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Franchising authority staff must accept fair-market-value treatment and cannot preclude qualifying franchise transfers. Local government cable offices lose some leverage to condition or block ownership transfers after franchise disputes. Cable operators must provide written transfer notice at least 15 days before transfer if required. Municipal attorneys must apply the bill's broad transfer definition across mergers, sales, assignments, and lease transactions.
Key Provisions
- Requires fair-market-value treatment when a franchising authority acquires or transfers a revoked cable system.
- Bars franchising authorities from blocking transfers to buyers that accept existing franchise terms.
- Authorizes franchising authorities to require 15 days written notice before a transfer.
- Defines transfer to cover mergers, sales, assignments, leases, and other franchise-right transactions.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires fair-market-value treatment for revoked cable franchises and bars franchising authorities from blocking cable franchise transfers to buyers that accept existing terms.
Key Policy Areas
Communications, Cable, Local Government
Primary Purpose
Requires fair-market-value treatment for revoked cable franchises and bars franchising authorities from blocking cable franchise transfers to buyers that accept existing terms.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- Cable providers
- Cable system investors
- Cable consumers
- Cable subscribers
Identified Costs
- Franchising authority staff
- Local government cable offices
- Cable providers
- Municipal attorneys
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMrs. Houchin (for herself and Mr. Goldman of Texas) introduced …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Cable providers, Cable system investors
Franchising authority staff, Local government cable offices
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology