Number: RL34649
Title: Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access Cable Television Channels: Issues for Congress
Authors: Charles B. Goldfarb, Resources, Science, and Industry Division 
Abstract: Public, educational, and governmental (PEG) access channels are those cable television channels that are set aside for use by the general public, by local schools, colleges, and universities, and by elements of local government. PEG access channels are not mandated by federal law. But the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 amended the Communications Act to explicitly allow cable franchising authorities to require cable operators to set aside channel capacity for PEG use and to provide adequate facilities or financial support for those channels. These PEG provisions have been a primary vehicle for fostering the long-standing U.S. media policy goal of localism on cable systems.
Pages: 14
Date: September 5, 2008