Deck 9: Telecommunications

Question 1

Community Antenna Television (CATV) was born during the TV license freeze (1948-1952), but it grew to become a national concern for media regulation due to what circumstance?

A) Online video distribution created intense competition for cable and satellite systems
B) TV broadcasters complained of cable systems importing distant channels into local markets.
C) Radio stations began to lose audience circulation due to music channels on cable television.
D) Newspapers felt left out and resented they were no longer regarded as the natural monopoly.
E) all of the above

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The Supreme Court opted to grant FCC rule-making authority over cable television so long as its rules were reasonable ancillary to broadcasting and over-the-air television stations in what decision?

A) Hoover v. Intercity Radio (1923)
B) U.S. v. Zenith Radio Corp. (1926)
C) Red Lion Broadcasting v. FCC (1969)
D) U.S. v. Southwestern Cable (1968)
E) none of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

A ___________ is a communication system that transmits via wire or airwaves based on nondiscriminatory access for sources and messages.

A) common carrier
B) cable system
C) community antenna television tower
D) wire carrier
E) power grid

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Cable television's use of broadcast television programming without license came before the U.S. Supreme Court in ___________ , and the ruling held broadcasters could not receive direct payments from cable systems.

A) Carter Mountain Transmission Co. v. Federal Communications Comm'n
B) Leathers v. Medlock
C) Frontier Broadcasting v. Collier
D) Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists
E) U.S. v. Southwestern Cable

Question 5

Satellite television systems challenged cable's status as a "natural monopoly " becoming part of the growing competition offering viewers new television options the FCC labeled as _____?

A) mobile telephony carriers
B) MVPD - multichannel video program distributors
C) SMATV - satellite master antenna television
D) TELCOS - telephone companies with video options
E) none of the above

Question 6

Congress put an end to natural monopolies and allowed for the sale of video, online, and phone services by the cable, satellite, and telephone industries, thanks to what congressional legislation?

A) Communications Act of 1934
B) Copyright Act of 1976
C) Telecommunications Act of 1996
D) Cable Consumer Protection Act of 1992
E) none of the above

Question 7

Network neutrality is no longer an FCC policy, but its mandates did seek to achieve the ____

A) prohibition of local networks from airing one-sided political information
B) requirement that internet service providers offer reasonable rates to rural subscribers
C) promise the U.S. government would stay neutral in cable and broadcasting must-carry deals
D) requirement internet service providers would not treat apps and websites differently by increasing or decreasing download speeds
E) all of the above

Question 8

The syndicated program Family Feud was produced and distributed for local television licensing. A TV station wishing to keep other channels from showing the same program in the same market would rely on what provision in this situation?

A) Rating dilution
B) Syndicated exclusivity
C) Natural monopoly
D) Franchise rights
E) Common carrier

Question 9

TV stations trying to secure a spot on the local cable system can rely on what legal option below?

A) Syndicated exclusivity
B) Rating dilution
C) Must-carry
D) Syndex
E) Copyright

Question 10

In two cases fought by Turner Broadcasting before the Supreme Court, Turner challenged the FCC must-carry rule on the basis that it was in violation of its ______ .

A) vertical integration
B) freedom of speech
C) copyright privileges
D) right to contract with local franchises
E) all of the above

Question 11

Congress managed to free cable systems from certain demands imposed by local franchise agreements, and capped franchise fees at 5% of gross revenues through passage of the ____.

A) Retransmission Agreements Act
B) Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992
C) Federal Radio Act
D) Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act of 1984
E) Federal Communications Act

Question 12

The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 contained provisions designed to accomplish all but one of the following objectives. Which item below does not belong?

A) Uphold new standards of competition
B) Establish the Cable Television Consumer Protection Agency
C) Monitor cable rates
D) Grant regulatory oversight to local franchise authorities
E) Require exclusive franchise agreements in writing

Question 13

Which of the following acts of Congress served to increase competition in the broadcasting industry with other electronic media?

A) The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992
B) The Federal Communications Act
C) The Telecommunications Act of 1996
D) The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984
E) The Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act

Question 14

Suppose the U.S. conglomerate GMG (Giant Media Group) owns and operates 50% of the nation's media, including TV camera manufacturers, video recorders, local radio/TV stations, cable systems, production companies, a cinema theatre chain, and broadcast networks. GMG would be engaged in ____________.

A) monopoly
B) horizontal integration
C) franchise
D) natural monopoly
E) vertical integration

Question 15

Horizontal integration occurs when a single media company

A) merges with the only other company in the same business
B) acquires other media businesses of the same nature
C) owns all the media business in a specific market area
D) sells the majority of its shares to other media businesses
E) owns businesses throughout the media production and distribution chain

Question 16

What Communications law makes it illegal for MVPDs to bargain in bad faith for broadcast channel carriage based on FCC's standard of good-faith negotiation?

A) Equal opportunities act
B) Fairness doctrine
C) Sec. 325 of Comm. Act
D) Sec. 315 of Comm. Act
E) none of the above

Question 17

Leased access channels are

A) local channels carried by cable network providers
B) channels which charge customers on a per-program basis
C) cable channels which purchase time on local broadcasting systems
D) channels which air special events
E) channels that provide reduced rate airtime on cable to independent programmers

Question 18

The 1972 policy adopted by the Federal Communications Commission known as the "Open Sky Policy" permitted ________________.

A) private industries to use public satellites to broadcast television
B) government to introduce an increased number of satellites to orbit
C) private industries to use private satellites for broadcasting television
D) individuals to use satellites to receive satellite broadcasts
E) private industries to introduce satellites into orbit

Question 19

Which of the following is a system that broadcasts local channels to subscribers via microwave signal?

A) Cable
B) Satellite
C) Multichannel multipoint distribution
D) Broadband
E) Fiber optics

Question 20

This law granted telephone companies the right to compete with video broadcasting services.

A) Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984
B) Telecommunications Act of 1996
C) Sherman Antitrust Act
D) National Cable & Telecommunications Act
E) none of the above

Question 21

American cable television actually marks it beginning with the creation of _____ .

A) satellite television
B) coaxial transmission cables
C) community antenna television (CATV)
D) radio and television transmission towers
E) all of the above

Question 22

In U.S. v. Southwestern Cable, the Supreme Court held that cable should be within the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission. The Court limited the extent of the FCC's jurisdiction by requiring regulations on CATV to be substantially related to broadcast services.

Question 23

Increased numbers of multichannel video program distributors has bred a market more susceptible to formation of natural monopolies.

Question 24

Community antenna television (CATV) went out of use when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists that retransmission of the content via CATV violated the copyright held by the owner of the content.

Question 25

Suppose that Cable Broadcast Company (CBC) is a relatively new media company that is in the business of providing cable programming with up to 342 channels. One service area has nine local stations. Under current FCC regulations, CBC must carry one-third of the local stations.

Question 26

The 1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act took all cable franchise authority out of the hands of state and local authorities. Franchise entities must rely solely on the FCC regulations and authority.

Question 27

Suppose Anderson Media Group is a large media production company. Anderson owns and operates production studios in eight of the twenty-seven major cities for film productions. Rules of horizontal integration will prohibit Anderson from acquiring production businesses in the remaining nineteen cities.

Question 28

Brightside Networks offers cable services to markets throughout the state of Florida. Brightside offers three tiers of service to subscribers - basic cable, program or expanded basic, and pay-per-view. All three tiers are subject to rate regulation by the FCC based on the number of channels, cable subscribers, and pay services.

Question 29

Carpenter Network Television (CNT), an entity providing cable services in Orange County, is required by the FCC to provide leased-access channels as part of its cable packages. Though the channels are required by the FCC, CNT retains editorial control over the content aired.

Question 30

The 1999 Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act gave satellite television systems to provide local broadcast TV channels to all subscribers in a designated market area (DMA). Concurrent with this right, the satellite television systems were granted discretion on which of the local broadcast channels would be carried.

Question 31

Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, web "publishers" are subject to the same liability where a third party publishes a defamatory statement in an un-moderated space as where a newspaper publishes a defamatory letter to the editor.