December 3, 2005

IS THERE A PACKAGE WITH JUST FOX NEWS, NESN, C-SPAN AND PBS?:

Conservative groups push à la carte cable menus (Jennifer C. Kerr, December 3, 2005, Associated Press)

Conservative groups love the idea of letting television viewers pay for only the channels they want on cable and are happy it's back on the table in Washington, where lawmakers and regulators are fed up with raunchy television.

While the cable industry generally loathes the notion of an à la carte pricing system, at least one cable company and a potentially big cable competitor have embraced it.

À la carte would allow cable subscribers to pick and pay for individual channels rather than being forced to buy packages. A parent, for example, could pick Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network -- and not have to take MTV or other channels they may find objectionable as part of a bundled package.

The idea attracted attention this week on Capitol Hill when the Federal Communications Commission chairman, Kevin Martin, told industry leaders they need to give parents more tools to help navigate the hundreds of channels on cable and satellite television.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 3, 2005 9:49 AM
Comments

Did you know that there's a CSPAN-3 now?

Posted by: Bryan Francoeur at December 3, 2005 9:55 AM

Not on our sucky cable system.

Posted by: oj at December 3, 2005 9:59 AM

If my kids get to pick, it'll be Cartoon Network and The History Channel, and that's it.

Posted by: Mike Morley at December 3, 2005 10:04 AM

when is JSPAN-1 going live ?

Posted by: ed murrow's toe at December 3, 2005 10:32 AM

Bring in competition, and we'll have a la carte in no time.

Posted by: pj at December 3, 2005 10:45 AM

OJ:
Not on my SupaBadd expensive DirecTV system either. But I still want it.

Posted by: Bryan Francoeur at December 3, 2005 11:06 AM

Instead of C-Span 3, try painting something. The watching it dry part will remind you of it.

Posted by: Bob at December 3, 2005 11:52 AM

PBS? Please. It would be the first off of my menu.

Posted by: Melissa at December 3, 2005 12:41 PM

I think you're forgetting FoxSoccerChannel, Goltv, SetantaUSA and of course YESNetwork.

Posted by: Jim in Chicago at December 3, 2005 1:24 PM

Ever try watching LinkUp (or WorldLink or LinkTV or whatever it's called this week)? It's basically the Moonbat News Network, with lots of earnest young people with bad skin speaking the truth to power in a laughably low budget studio.

Al Gore's new Current network seems to be along the same lines as those tedious 20 minute long NPR stories about endangered underground cultures and plucky women fighting battles against stuff. It's got that cutesey ersatz "download bar" at the bottom to let you know how long until the next tedious story.

Posted by: Bryan at December 3, 2005 1:39 PM

What this would mean is that all those subsidized shopping channels that no rational person would ever watch will be gone. But I betcha they'll still require you to get the city and county "public access" channels, as to not force you to get them would violate somebody's Right to Free Speech. The world need more dimly lit naked self-proclaimed lesbians reciting (well, mumbling) their poetry.

Posted by: Raoul Ortega at December 3, 2005 1:49 PM

How can anyone forget Turner Classic Movies? The Military Channel has some good stuff as well. They've been showing an excellent 10(?)-hour Brit documentary on World War I.

Posted by: PapayaSF at December 3, 2005 4:41 PM

You can set your remote to skip the channels you don't care for. Won't save you any money.

Posted by: Robert Schwartz at December 3, 2005 4:45 PM

What most people do not realize is that the cable nets pay the providers of almost every single channel they carry. Maybe a dime, maybe a quarter, everything carries a line-item that must be paid for each set that is connected. It is passed on to the consumer. You pay money to MTV, Fox News, CSPAN, of whomever it is that you hate. It is much more than merely not wanting to see the stuff. There is a fairness issue in not having to support it.

Posted by: Michael Gersh at December 3, 2005 10:36 PM

If they did this, I might actually be able to justify the cost of cable. And then all my precious free time would be lost. Say no to a la carte!

Posted by: Guy T. at December 3, 2005 11:11 PM
« WHAT DEMOCRATS COULD DO FOR US: | Main | HOWARD PULLS INTO THE LEAD IN THE THIRD WAY SWEEPSTAKES: »