Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011 - 21

CABLE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Frank Lloyd
Mintz Levin
Frank Lloyd was advising FCC chmn Charles Ferris in the
late 1970s when he ran into a conundrum: How to justify
the " bizarre roadblocks that had been put up by the broadcasters
to protect their monopoly, " Lloyd recalls. One doozy
was called the " no leap-frogging rule " that blocked satellite
transmission of distant broadcast signals and was frustrating
a colorful Atlanta businessman named Ted Turner,
among other cable pioneers. Ferris was also perplexed. " I
tried to explain this rule, and he said, 'That's ridiculous', "
Lloyd says. The TBS " superstation " launched not much
later-and the rest is multichannel history. Lloyd retired only
last year. And he's already missed.
Lloyd, who later became a key cable lawyer at Mintz
Levin and spent decades advocating for cable, takes
our lifetime achievement award this year not as an MSO
exec-but as an invaluable cable asset whose knowledge
of the FCC became a key weapon in cable's fi ght for a level
playing fi eld. In fact, he's one of the few people cable can
truly thank for clearing away those roadblocks and helping
it achieve the market freedom that led to its expansion-all
while content options fl ourished amid a new environment
for programming.
Now spending a lot of time with his family and enjoying a
slower pace, Lloyd still keeps abreast of cable news and marvels
at how much the industry has changed. " When I came
FAST FACTS
■ Influences Lloyd credits include former FCC chmn Charles Ferris, former
FCC general counsel Henry Geller and former NCTA chief Robert Sachs.
■ Lloyd served for many years as chairman of the Practicing Law Institute's
annual programs on cable law in NYC and San Francisco.
■ Lloyd is a 1967 graduate of Harvard Law School.
■ Lloyd cuts a mean rug and has worked up a dance-floor sweat
at many a cable industry party (see picture above).
CableFAX: The Magazine
July 2011
in, the only non-broadcast video competition a franchised
cable operator had was from overbuilders, " he says. " And the
big fi ghts were in the trenches of the municipal franchising
process. " Now it's telcos, satellite, over-the-top providers and
a number of other broadband-based options that compete
for consumer eyeballs. So what's Lloyd's advice for young
cable lawyers trying to fi gure all of this out? Don't forget the
basics. " I think face time is incredibly important, but I may
be a dinosaur, " he says. " I don't think you get someone's
trust through an email. I don't think you have to buy them an
expensive dinner either. You just have to sit down with them
and make it clear. " Lloyd
says personal visits with
FCC staff are especially
important now because
the issues are so complicated.
" You have to follow
up with a visit, " he says.
" Half the stuff you send
over there ends up on
the fl oor in a huge stack.
I know because I used to
be the guy over there. " ■
-Michael Grebb
cablefaxmag.com
21
Just another night on the dance floor... Frank Lloyd boogies with the
best of them, this time at the NECTA convention in Newport, RI.
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Cablefax The Magazine - July 2011

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