---
kind: "section"
citation: "47 U.S.C. § 532"
title: "47"
title_heading: "Telecommunications"
number: "532"
heading: "Cable channels for commercial use"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/47/532"
units:
  - "Chapter 5 — Wire or Radio Communication"
  - "Subchapter V–A — Cable Communications"
  - "Part II — Use of Cable Channels and Cable Ownership Restrictions"
---

# §532. Cable channels for commercial use

- (a) **Purpose—** The purpose of this section is to promote competition in the delivery of diverse sources of [video programming](/usc/47/522.md?p=20) and to assure that the widest possible diversity of information sources are made available to the public from [cable systems](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) in a manner consistent with growth and development of [cable systems](/usc/47/522.md?p=7).
- (b) **Designation of channel capacity for commercial use—**
  - (1) A [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) shall designate [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for commercial use by [persons](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) unaffiliated with the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) in accordance with the following requirements:
    - (A) An [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) with 36 or more (but not more than 54) [activated channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=1) shall designate 10 percent of such [channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) which are not otherwise required for use (or the use of which is not prohibited) by Federal law or regulation.
    - (B) An [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) with 55 or more (but not more than 100) [activated channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=1) shall designate 15 percent of such [channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) which are not otherwise required for use (or the use of which is not prohibited) by Federal law or regulation.
    - (C) An [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) with more than 100 [activated channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=1) shall designate 15 percent of all such [channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=4).
    - (D) An [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) with fewer than 36 [activated channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=1) shall not be required to designate [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for commercial use by [persons](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) unaffiliated with the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A), unless the [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) is required to provide such [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity under the terms of a [franchise](/usc/47/522.md?p=9) in effect on October 30, 1984.
    - (E) An [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) in operation on October 30, 1984, shall not be required to remove any service actually being provided on July 1, 1984, in order to comply with this section, but shall make [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity available for commercial use as such capacity becomes available until such time as the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) is in full compliance with this section.
  - (2) Any [Federal agency](/usc/47/522.md?p=8), [State](/usc/47/522.md?p=18), or [franchising authority](/usc/47/522.md?p=10) may not require any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) to designate [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for commercial use by unaffiliated [persons](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) in excess of the capacity specified in [paragraph (1)](#b-1), except as otherwise provided in this section.
  - (3) A [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) may not be required, as part of a request for proposals or as part of a proposal for renewal, subject to [section 546 of this title](/usc/47/546.md), to designate [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for any use (other than commercial use by unaffiliated [persons](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) under this section) except as provided in sections [531](/usc/47/531.md) and [557](/usc/47/557.md) of this title, but a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) may offer in a [franchise](/usc/47/522.md?p=9), or proposal for renewal thereof, to provide, consistent with applicable law, such capacity for other than commercial use by such [persons](/usc/47/522.md?p=15).
  - (4) A [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) may use any unused [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity designated pursuant to this section until the use of such [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity is obtained, pursuant to a written agreement, by a [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) unaffiliated with the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A).
  - (5) For the purposes of this section, the term “commercial use” means the provision of [video programming](/usc/47/522.md?p=20), whether or not for profit.
  - (6) Any [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity which has been designated for public, educational, or governmental use may not be considered as designated under this section for commercial use for purpose of this section.
- (c) **Use of channel capacity by unaffiliated persons; editorial control; restriction on service; rules on rates, terms, and conditions—**
  - (1) If a [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) unaffiliated with the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) seeks to use [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity designated pursuant to [subsection (b)](#b) for commercial use, the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) shall establish, consistent with the purpose of this section and with rules prescribed by the Commission under [paragraph (4)](#c-4), the price, terms, and conditions of such use which are at least sufficient to assure that such use will not adversely affect the operation, financial condition, or market development of the [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7).
  - (2) A [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) shall not exercise any editorial control over any [video programming](/usc/47/522.md?p=20) provided pursuant to this section, or in any other way consider the content of such programming, except that a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and may consider such content to the minimum extent necessary to establish a reasonable price for the commercial use of designated [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity by an unaffiliated [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15).
  - (3) Any [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) designated in accordance with this section shall not be used to provide a [cable service](/usc/47/522.md?p=6) that is being provided over such system on October 30, 1984, if the provision of such programming is intended to avoid the purpose of this section.
  - (4)
    - (A) The Commission shall have the authority to—
      - (i) determine the maximum reasonable rates that a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) may establish pursuant to [paragraph (1)](#c-1) for commercial use of designated [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity, including the rate charged for the billing of rates to subscribers and for the collection of revenue from subscribers by the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) for such use;
      - (ii) establish reasonable terms and conditions for such use, including those for billing and collection; and
      - (iii) establish procedures for the expedited resolution of disputes concerning rates or carriage under this section.
    - (B) Within 180 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission shall establish rules for determining maximum reasonable rates under [subparagraph (A)(i)](#c-4-A-i), for establishing terms and conditions under [subparagraph (A)(ii)](#c-4-A-ii), and for providing procedures under [subparagraph (A)(iii)](#c-4-A-iii).
- (d) **Right of action in district court; relief; factors not to be considered by court—** Any [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) aggrieved by the failure or refusal of a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) to make [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity available for use pursuant to this section may bring an action in the district court of the [United States](/usc/47/153.md?p=58) for the judicial district in which the [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) is located to compel that such capacity be made available. If the court finds that the [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity sought by such [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) has not been made available in accordance with this section, or finds that the price, terms, or conditions established by the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) are unreasonable, the court may order such system to make available to such [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) the [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity sought, and further determine the appropriate price, terms, or conditions for such use consistent with [subsection (c)](#c), and may award actual damages if it deems such relief appropriate. In any such action, the court shall not consider any price, term, or condition established between an [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) and an [affiliate](/usc/47/522.md?p=2) for comparable services.
- (e) **Petition to Commission; relief—**
  - (1) Any [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) aggrieved by the failure or refusal of a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) to make [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity available pursuant to this section may petition the Commission for relief under this subsection upon a showing of prior adjudicated violations of this section. Records of previous adjudications resulting in a court determination that the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) has violated this section shall be considered as sufficient for the showing necessary under this subsection. If the Commission finds that the [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity sought by such [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) has not been made available in accordance with this section, or that the price, terms, or conditions established by such system are unreasonable under [subsection (c)](#c), the Commission shall, by rule or order, require such [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) to make available such [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity under price, terms, and conditions consistent with [subsection (c)](#c).
  - (2) In any case in which the Commission finds that the prior adjudicated violations of this section constitute a pattern or practice of violations by an [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A), the Commission may also establish any further rule or order necessary to assure that the [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) provides the diversity of information sources required by this section.
  - (3) In any case in which the Commission finds that the prior adjudicated violations of this section constitute a pattern or practice of violations by any [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) who is an [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) of more than one [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7), the Commission may also establish any further rule or order necessary to assure that such [person](/usc/47/522.md?p=15) provides the diversity of information sources required by this section.
- (f) **Presumption of reasonableness and good faith—** In any action brought under this section in any Federal district court or before the Commission, there shall be a presumption that the price, terms, and conditions for use of [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity designated pursuant to [subsection (b)](#b) are reasonable and in good faith unless shown by clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
- (g) **Promulgation of rules—** Notwithstanding sections [541(c)](/usc/47/541.md?p=c) and [543(a)](/usc/47/543.md?p=a) of this title, at such time as [cable systems](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) with 36 or more [activated channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=1) are available to 70 percent of households within the [United States](/usc/47/153.md?p=58) and are subscribed to by 70 percent of the households to which such systems are available, the Commission may promulgate any additional rules necessary to provide diversity of information sources. Any rules promulgated by the Commission pursuant to this subsection shall not preempt authority expressly granted to [franchising authorities](/usc/47/522.md?p=10) under this subchapter.
- (h) **Cable service unprotected by Constitution—** Any [cable service](/usc/47/522.md?p=6) offered pursuant to this section shall not be provided, or shall be provided subject to conditions, if such [cable service](/usc/47/522.md?p=6) in the judgment of the [franchising authority](/usc/47/522.md?p=10) or the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) is obscene, or is in conflict with community standards in that it is lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent or is otherwise unprotected by the Constitution of the [United States](/usc/47/153.md?p=58). This subsection shall permit a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) to enforce prospectively a written and published policy of prohibiting programming that the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards.
- (i) **Programming from qualified minority or educational programming sources—**
  - (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections [(b)](#b) and [(c)](#c), a [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) required by this section to designate [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for commercial use may use any such [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity for the provision of programming from a qualified minority programming source or from any qualified educational programming source, whether or not such source is affiliated with the [cable operator](/usc/47/522.md?p=5). The [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity used to provide programming from a qualified minority programming source or from any qualified educational programming source pursuant to this subsection may not exceed 33 percent of the [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) capacity designated pursuant to this section. No programming provided over a [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) on July 1, 1990, may qualify as minority programming or educational programming on that [cable system](/usc/47/522.md?p=7) under this subsection.
  - (2) For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualified minority programming source” means a programming source which devotes substantially all of its programming to coverage of minority viewpoints, or to programming directed at members of minority groups, and which is over 50 percent minority-owned, as the term “minority” is defined in [section 309(i)(3)(C)(ii) of this title](/usc/47/309.md?p=i-3-C-ii).
  - (3) For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualified educational programming source” means a programming source which devotes substantially all of its programming to educational or instructional programming that promotes public understanding of mathematics, the sciences, the humanities, and the arts and has a documented annual expenditure on programming exceeding $15,000,000. The annual expenditure on programming means all annual costs incurred by the programming source to produce or acquire programs which are scheduled to be televised, and specifically excludes marketing, promotion, satellite transmission and operational costs, and general administrative costs.
  - (4) Nothing in this subsection shall substitute for the requirements to carry qualified noncommercial educational television [stations](/usc/47/153.md?p=42) as specified under [section 535 of this title](/usc/47/535.md).
- (j) **Single channel access to indecent programming—**
  - (1) Within 120 days following October 5, 1992, the Commission shall promulgate regulations designed to limit the access of children to indecent programming, as defined by Commission regulations, and which [cable operators](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) have not voluntarily prohibited under [subsection (h)](#h) by—
    - (A) requiring [cable operators](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) to place on a single [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) all indecent programs, as identified by program providers, intended for carriage on [channels](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) designated for commercial use under this section;
    - (B) requiring [cable operators](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) to block such single [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) unless the subscriber requests access to such [channel](/usc/47/522.md?p=4) in writing; and
    - (C) requiring programmers to inform [cable operators](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) if the program would be indecent as defined by Commission regulations.
  - (2) [Cable operators](/usc/47/522.md?p=5) shall comply with the regulations promulgated pursuant to [paragraph (1)](#j-1).

## Source credit

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, § 612, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2782; amended Pub. L. 102–385, §§ 9, 10(a), (b), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1484, 1486; Pub. L. 104–104, title V, § 506(b), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 137.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Constitutionality

For information regarding the constitutionality of certain provisions of this section, see the Table of Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the Supreme Court on the Constitution Annotated website, constitution.congress.gov.

### Amendments

1996—Subsec. (c)(2). Pub. L. 104–104 substituted “a cable operator may refuse to transmit any leased access program or portion of a leased access program which contains obscenity, indecency, or nudity and” for “an operator”.

1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–385, § 9(a), inserted “to promote competition in the delivery of diverse sources of video programming and” after “purpose of this section is”.

Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 102–385, § 9(d), amended par. (5) generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows: “For the purposes of this section—

“(A) the term ‘activated channels’ means those channels engineered at the headend of the cable system for the provision of services generally available to residential subscribers of the cable system, regardless of whether such services actually are provided, including any channel designated for public, educational, or governmental use; and

“(B) the term ‘commercial use’ means the provision of video programming, whether or not for profit.”

Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 102–385, § 9(b)(1), inserted “and with rules prescribed by the Commission under paragraph (4)” after “purpose of this section”.

Subsec. (c)(4). Pub. L. 102–385, § 9(b)(2), added par. (4).

Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 102–385, § 10(a), inserted “or the cable operator” after “franchising authority” and inserted at end “This subsection shall permit a cable operator to enforce prospectively a written and published policy of prohibiting programming that the cable operator reasonably believes describes or depicts sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards.”

Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 102–385, § 9(c), added subsec. (i).

Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 102–385, § 10(b), added subsec. (j).

### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 1992 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 102–385 effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as a note under section 325 of this title.

### Effective Date

Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title.