The National Association of Broadcasters on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission to make sure cable operators don't monopolize the distribution of interactive television services.

In a response to the commission's Notice of Inquiry on ITV-related issues, the NAB demanded that the FCC "establish a clear policy to prevent cable operators from discriminating among ITV service providers and content."

In a world where consumers will be increasingly dependent on cable and satellite service, broadcasters fear that the potentially lucrative revenue streams represented by interactive services - high-speed Internet access, video-on-demand and others - will pass them by.

Cable operators are in the best position to do this, they argue, since so many of the interactive services are accessed through the cable set-top box, and since many cable operators have financial stakes in ITV providers.

"These services are developing rapidly," the NAB said, "and are expected to become a multi-billion dollar business in the near future. Commission action now would additionally forestall the need for more intrusive governmental regulation later to deal with gatekeeper-related problems in the ITV market."

Led by conservative Republican Chairman Michael Powell, the FCC is expected to take a "let the marketplace solve it" stance on most issues. Arizona Republican John McCain, powerful head of the Senate Commerce Committee, will back that stance. McCain has long been an advocate of looser media ownership restrictions.

Investors who want to play the ITV market not only look at interactive companies such as OpenTV, Wink Communications , Liberate Technologies , Gemstar-TV Guide and ACTV, but among the cable and satellite operators -- companies like Cablevision Systems, AT&T and Adelphia Communications. They don't think of broadcasters like Young Broadcasting, Hearst-Argyle Television or Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Broadcasters face an uphill climb in their fight against cable and satellite. Their only hope, ultimately, is to band together in various ways to defray costs and share the spoils of whatever part of the broadband pie they can claim. The Powell-led FCC seems unlikely to offer much help.