VDC Corporation was a distributor of multichannel video programming that delivered live cable television through

broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...

connected computers in the United States. They developed and were involved in the distribution and delivery of live cable

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

programming channels.

History

VDC Corporation was founded in 2002 by Scott Wolf. VDC was a pioneer in the delivery of live cable programming to mobile devices. The company transitioned its mobile product to the delivery of live cable television to desktop computers with their Virtual Digital Cable service launched in April 2006. In October 2006, VDC became one of the first providers to utilize the

Microsoft Silverlight Microsoft Silverlight is a discontinued application framework designed for writing and running rich web applications, similar to Adobe Inc., Adobe's Run time environment, runtime, Adobe Flash. A plugin for Silverlight is still available for a v ...

technology to provide secure, live distribution of streaming television. In January 2007, VDC made public its decision to file a program-access complaint with the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

to commence a proceeding to obtain enforcement of the program access rules under the 1992 Cable TV Consumer Protection Act, to ensure

vertically integrated In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply ...

programming providers sell their programming to VDC. Such providers include

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

(CNN, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, HBO),

Liberty Media Liberty Media Corporation (commonly referred to as Liberty Media or just Liberty) is an American mass media company controlled by chairman John C. Malone. The company has three divisions, reflecting the company's ownership stakes in Formula One ...

, (Discovery Channel),

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

(Rainbow) and

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

(E!, Golf Channel). In late January 2010, the company posted a notice on their website stating that they had ceased offering subscriptions pending the FCC's decision on their program-access complaint. This remained in place at least until July 2011; the website has since been replaced with a generic

domain parking Domain parking is the registration of an Internet domain name without that domain being associated with any services such as e-mail or a website. This may have been done with a view to reserving the domain name for future development, and to prot ...

page.

Controversies

Congress attempted to encourage growth and competition in the

cable marketplace with the 1992 Cable TV Consumer Protection Act. Using the internet, VDC claims to have brought diversity and increased competition to the marketplace:

The term 'multichannel video programming distributor' means an entity engaged in the business of making available for purchase, by subscribers or customers, multiple channels of video programming. Such entities include, but are not limited to, a cable operator, a multichannel multipoint distribution service, a direct broadcast satellite service, a television receive-only satellite program distributor, and a satellite master antenna television system operator, as well as buying groups or agents of all such entities.47 CFR 76.1000(e) - Code of Federal Regulations
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VDC's complaint with the

was filed against

Turner Broadcasting System Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...

Streamer Seeks Program Access - 1/22/2007 - Multichannel News
to force Turner into compliance with the 1992 Cable Act and to recognize VDC as an MVPD. This would grant VDC mandatory access to broadcast Turner's programming on VDC's MVPD system. The FCC debate also raises regulatory and broadcast issues involving

net neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...

References

External links

* * {{CATV USA Cable television companies of the United States Streaming television