Senate Decency Hearing to Focus on Family Tier, V-Chip
The Senate Commerce Committee will scrutinize cable’s proposed family tier at today’s (Thurs.) decency hearing, even though it’s too soon to tell if such programming will make money. While 4 cable operators have announced plans for family tiers, the packages aren’t being offered widely enough to gauge demand. Still, cable plans to tell the committee consumers want a family tier.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
But whether a family tier will placate members on the warpath against what they consider offensive programming is another matter. “Some senators won’t be satisfied with the family tier,” said an industry source. If the panel drafts a bill that would fine satellite and cable for offensive material, it risks First Amendment challenges. “The time has passed for legislation,” said a Senate aide: “They're just waiting for the marketplace to work out a solution.”
Consumer groups suggested the committee take a close look at whether the industry is promoting family tiers in “good faith” to ensure that they'll have a chance to succeed in the marketplace. “We urge you to reject voluntary industry proposals that fail to offer consumers adequate control through new ‘family choice tiers,'” said a letter sent Wed. to Senate Commerce Committee Chmn. Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chmn. Inouye (D-Hawaii) from Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America and Free Press. The groups urged the committee to address the “unfair contractual restrictions imposed by video programmers that prevent existing cable distributors and new video market entrants from offering ‘a la carte’ programming that would actually lower consumers’ monthly cable bills.”
Former MPAA Pres. Jack Valenti told the committee in 2005 he hoped to create a TV ratings system easier for parents to understand. He told the committee he would meet with cable and TV industry officials to seek consensus on a system. But that effort failed, and at tomorrow’s hearing Valenti is expected to urge a campaign to help parents understand the V-chip so they can block inappropriate programming.
Expectations for family tier packages are low among both industry officials and analysts. Cable operators would be in a bind if the packages succeed too flagrantly, since contracts with Disney’s ESPN and other programmers limit the number of customers that can buy them (CD Jan 13 p2). The 4 firms that have unveiled family tiers since a Nov. 29 decency forum have not guessed at the packages’ potential popularity. Comcast, for instance, said there was plenty of consumer demand, but declined to comment on subscriber expectations (CD Dec 23 p9). Each package costs about $30 monthly and includes about 15 channels. Offerings from Comcast, Cox, Insight and Time Warner all include The Disney Channel, The Weather Channel and a C- SPAN channel (CD Jan 18 p14).