Exclusive Service Contracts for Provision of Video Services in Multiple Dwelling Units and Other Real Estate Developments

The Commission's action concerns "Multiple Dwelling Units" such as apartment or condominium buildings and centrally managed residential real estate developments (collectively, "MDUs"); cable operators that provide video service in MDUs; and agreements that grant them the exclusive right to provide video programming service in an MDU. The Commission finds that such agreements, in granting exclusivity, harm competition, the provision of programming to MDU residents, and broadband deployment. Thus, the Commission prohibits the enforcement of existing exclusivity clauses and the execution of new ones by cable operators (and a few others). This prohibition will materially advance the Communications Act's goals of enhancing competition, consumer choice in video service and programming, and broadband deployment.