PUBLIC LAW 102-385—OCT. 5, 1992 106 STAT. 1461 carriage on cable systems. Vertically integrated program suppliers also have the incentive and ability to favor their adQSliated cable operators over nonaffiliated cable operators and programming distributors using other technologies. (6) There is a substantial governmental and First Amendment interest in promoting a diversity of views provided through multiple technology media. (7) There is a substantial governmental and First Amendment interest in ensuring that cable subscribers have access to local noncommercial educational stations which Congress has authorized, as expressed in section 396(a)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934. The distribution of imique noncommercial, educational programming services advances that interest. (8) The Federal Government has a substantigJ interest in making all nonduplicative loccd public television services available on cable systems because— (A) public television provides educational and informational programming to the Nation's citizens, thereby advancing the Government's compelling interest in educating its citizens; (B) public television is a local community institution, supported through loced tax dollars and voluntary citizen contributions in excess of $10,800,000,000 since 1972, that provides public service programming that is responsive to the needs and interests of the local community; (C) the Federal Government, in recognition of public television's integral role in serving the educational and informational needs of local communities, has invested more than $3,000,000,000 in public broadcasting since 1969; and (D) absent carriage requirements there is a substantial likelihood that citizens, who have supported local public television services, will be deprived of those services. (9) The Federal Government has a substantial interest in having cable systems carry the signals of local commercial television stations because the carriage of such signals is necessary to serve the goals contained in section 307(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 of providing a fair, efficient, and equitable distribution of broadcast services. (10) A primary objective and benefit of our Nation's system of regulation of television broadcasting is the local origination of programming. There is a substemtial governmental interest in ensuring its continuation. (11) Broadcast television stations continue to be an important source of local news and public affairs programming and other local broadcast services critical to an informed electorate. (12) Broadcast television programming is supported by revenues generated from advertising broadcast over stations. Such progrsunming is otherwise free to those who own television sets and do not require cable transmission to receive broadcast signals. There is a substantial governmental interest in promoting the continued availability of such free television programming, especially for viewers who are unable to afford other means of receiving programming.
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