Family News in Focus reports on the push for consumer choice in cable TV programming:
Members of the Senate Commerce Committee last week warned cable operators that new regulations may be in the offing unless consumers are allowed some input into lineup decisions -- and prices come down.
Some consumer groups want an "a la carte" option, which would let customers buy only the channels they want. Melissa Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Parents Television Council, said that's the best option available.
"Right now, there's an inherently unfair system," she said, "where parents are forced to pay for channels they not only don't want but that they find morally offensive."
. . . The Consumers Union said requiring cable operators to offer a la carte programming would unleash the power of the consumers' pocketbook -- which would, in turn, help lower costs, increase incentives for quality fare and give families the power to not pay for extra channels they find objectionable or too expensive.
The a la carte option is the best one for both consumers and the cable industry itself. For the industry, it curbs the trend toward government censorship. For consumers, it removes financial support for channels they find morally objectionable or just desperately dull. (Most basic cable channels fall into one of those two categories, unfortunately.) It was a dark day in my house when Adelphia removed the classic movies channel and gave us SoapNet instead. How about some good, old-fashioned free-market choices?
Quickly, while we have the Senate's attention, use our Take Action page to urge your senator to support an a la carte purchase option.
(If you find this site useful and would like to help make political devotions a mass movement, please tell others about PoliticalDevotions.com or place a link to it on your website. Then when you've done so, be sure to e-mail me so I can thank you personally! - Tim.)
