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7 Va. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2002)

handle is hein.journals/vjolt7 and id is 1 raw text is: 7 Va. J.L. & Tech. 1 (2002), at http//www.vjiolt.net
@ 2002 Virginia Journal of Law and Technology Association
VIRGINIA JOURNAL of LAW and TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA             SPRING 2002              7 VA. J.L. & TECH. 1
Ownership Controls in the New Entertainment Economy:
A Search for Direction
Cristian DeFrancia*
Introduction    ...................................................................2
I.   Regulating Ownership in Mass Media....................................             ..........5
A.   Early Approaches to Entertainment: Vertical Integration in the Film Industries ...... ..........5
B.   Broadcast Regulations: Legal and Practical Foundations                  .........................7
1.   Regulating Behavior: Chain Broadcasting Rules..................................8
11.  Program Access Rules....................................................10
III.   Structural Regulations: Ownership Controls ...............................12
a.   Why Content is King: The Abolition of the Fin-Syn Rules.............    ..............13
b.   Horizontal Ownership Controls: Curbing the Power of the Networks .................14
C.   Cable Regulations..........................................................16
1.   Protecting the Broadcaster: Non-Duplication and Must-Carry     ...........     .............17
ii.  Behavioral Controls: Program Access Rules .....................................19
III.   Structural Controls: Channel Occupancy and Subscriber Limits            .....................22
D.   Direct Broadcast Satellite: MVPD Competition Becomes Reality .    ............    ............26
II.    Ownership Controls After Time Warner and Fox: Back to the Drawing Board ......   .........28
A.   Reassessing Cable Controls After Time Warner ............      .................. .....29
i.   The Subscriber Limit: What Comes Next?                          ......................................30
ii.  Channel Occupancy Limits: An Outmoded Idea ..............................35
B.     Ownership Controls in Broadcasting: The Fox Decision.............................36
1.   A Larger Issue Looms: A First Amendment Right Against Structural Controls?  .  ............38
ii.  Competition and Diversity: The Limits of Ownership Caps..........................43
iii. The Distinction of Broadcasting: Contending with Localism.........................45
III.   Regulatory Flux and the Era of Convergence: The New Entertainment Economy   ...  .............46
A.   The Changing Structure of the Entertainment Industries                 ........................47
1.   Information Services and the Entertainment Industries  ........................ .....48
ii.  The AOL Time Warner Merger: A Signal of What is to Come? ..................      ......49
B.   Interactive Television: A Role For Ownership Controls? ..............................51
* J.D. 2002, University of Virginia. I would like to express my appreciation to Glen Robinson for his very patient
mentoring in my study of communications law. I would also like to thank Charlie Goetz, Dan Ortiz, and the editors of
the Virginia Journal of Law & Technology for their invaluable comments on the draft. I also appreciate the willingness
of Ed Warren of Kirkland & Ellis and Harold Feld of the Media Access Project to discuss their perspectives of the
current court challenges with me.

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