D.C. Memo: Michael Powell, Champion of ISP Freedom, Leaving NCTA Later in Year
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NCTA: Michael Powell, FCC Chairman at a critical stage in the development of broadband regulation, is stepping down as CEO of NCTA – the Internet & Television Association, a trade group for major cable TV and broadband providers, including Comcast, Charter and Cox. “Serving this incredible industry has been deeply rewarding. NCTA is unique – working at the intersection of broadband innovation and creative video content has been an extraordinary experience. But above all, I have been fortunate to work alongside talented, committed, and caring colleagues,” Powell said in a statement. Powell, who started at NCTA about 15 years ago and is leaving later in the year, watched as the traditional cable TV business suffered at the hands of YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video steaming services – online video platforms that wouldn’t even exist were it not for the broadband investments made by Powell’s ISP members. Last June, NCTA, underscoring the dramatic market shift, said in an FCC filing: “[Cable and satellite TV] penetration in occupied households has fallen by 47 percentage points over the last fifteen years, going from 87.5% in 2009 to 40.5% as of December 2023.”
Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey praised Powell as “an exceptional champion of our great industry for the past 15 years - through both the substance of his leadership and talented communication skills.” Before joining NCTA, Powell, as Republican FCC Chairman from 2001 to 2005 under President George W. Bush, played a central role in shaping modern telecommunications policy. In 2002, the FCC under Powell classified cable modem service as an unregulated information service by law – a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court in the BrandX case in 2005. On Jan. 2, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that Powell’s interpretation was the “best reading of the law,” wiping out heavy-handed rules adopted under Democratic FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in 2024. NCTA’s board will launch a national search for Powell’s successor. A likely candidate to land on the short list is former Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a partner at Searchlight Capital and a philosophical heir to Powell’s light-touch approach to regulation of broadband ISPs.