There is absolutely no reason for the FCC not to act to ensure that American consumers have greater choice in cable television programming. What was once a small segment of the entertainment pie in need of protection to grow is now large enough to survive in a competitive environment. The benefits of such competition would accrue to the consumers.

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is struggling to find enough support from a majority of the agency’s commissioners to regulate cable television companies more tightly.

The five-member commission is set to vote on Tuesday on a report, proposed by Kevin J. Martin, the agency’s chairman, that would give the commission expanded powers over the cable industry after making a formal finding that it had grown too big.

After news reports this month that Mr. Martin supported the finding — along with the commission’s two Democrats — the cable industry heavily lobbied the commission and allies in Congress to kill the proposal. Those efforts may be paying off.

Only in the most rare instances should government be protecting a monopoly. And then only with fledgling industries that will not grow without such protection or when an economy of scale dictates that only one provider can economically provide goods and services efficiently. Cable falls into neither of these categories.