The most predictable aspect of Tuesday’s FCC meeting may be its unpredictability. Chairman Kevin Martin is trying to push through several measures, including a last-minute piece of bureaucrat-ese that would escalate the commission’s ability to regulate the cable industry. But that particular push is getting so much push back, it may not stay on the agenda. At issue: the 70-70 rule, which gives the FCC more power over cable when cable penetration reaches 70 percent of U.S. households. Martin’s finding that the barrier has been broken is based on data gathered by one publisher who says the data is incomplete. In the meantime, at least three commissioners have challenged the findings, while analyst Craig Moffett says, based on data from the eight publicly traded MSOs, cable barely breaks 60 percent. The plan has drawn heavy criticism from Republican legislators and from others who point to an increasingly more competitive video marketplace where cable loses basic subs while alternatives like satellite and telecoms are gaining. The meeting will air live on CSPAN-2 at 9:30 a.m. eastern. (It also should be online here.)

-- Also on the agenda, a proposal that could force cable operators to put certain channels, including the NFL Network, on basic tiers. (Funny, I don’t remember the FCC stepping in to aid consumers when the NFL granted DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) an exclusive to carry its out-of-market package.)

WSJ:  “As of Monday night, the commissioners were still haggling over details. Drafts of several proposals remained incomplete and one FCC official described negotiations as “a total mess.” Monday, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s four fellow commissioners were even “seriously talking about how to not have the meeting at all,” another FCC official said.”