A couple years ago or so, I scaled back from expanded cable to basic cable. We now just have channels 2-22 on Insight. The main reasons we cut back were (1) price and (2) objectionable material. Our cable bill was getting ridiculously expensive, and many of the channels I really wanted were only available on digital cable, which would have cost even more. And some of the channels I did get I didn’t want. For instance, one of the worst channels was Oxygen which aired a program called the “Sunday Night Sex Show.” This program was a grossly explicit call-in talk show that discussed sex, sex toys, etc. I thought to myself, “why am I paying for this garbage to come into my home?” And paying dearly, too!

The answer, of course, is bundling. This is when big companies like Viacom will only allow cable operators to rebroadcast their popular channels like ESPN if they also take less-popular networks with it. The cable companies are thus forced to push those channels on to the consumer. However, cable companies also participate in bundling when they offer packages like Insight’s basic cable, expanded cable, and digital cable. They choose the channels for each package/bundle, and then you have to take them all or nothing.

From a consumer standpoint, it would be better if we could choose and pay for only the channels we want. This is known as à la carte pricing. So, for instance, if all I wanted were the History Channel, Disney, TV Land, the Learning Channel, and C-SPAN (hypothetically), I could request and be billed for only those channels. Congress thought it was a good idea, too, so it commissioned the FCC to look into the matter. They reported back that such a model would result in higher fees and fewer choices. I can’t find a copy of the full 122-page report online, but a summary is available here (from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association).

One of the big proponents of à la carte pricing is the Parents Television Council. They were disappointed with the findings of the FCC’s report because they said it didn’t adequately deal with the indecency issue, which is a big reason people (like me) want more choice of cable channels. I think they have a point. According to the NCTA summary referenced above:

The Bureau found that a la carte was a “particularly blunt instrument” for blocking bjectionable content. Some a la carte proponents have argued that consumers would have more control selecting desired programming and rejecting offensive programming” if they could purchase and receive only those channels that they wanted in their homes. The Bureau concluded that regulatory and technology options already exist and are better suited for controlling content. For instance, the Communications Act requires cable operators to scramble the signal of channels that customers have not purchased. It also requires cable operators to offer “lockbox” technology that blocks unwanted channels. Consumers also benefit from “V-Chip” technology in cable set-top boxes and TV sets, which blocks content based on ratings assigned by the programmer.

This is an inadequate solution to the problem of indecency and objectionable material on cable. Let’s take their three solutions one by one:

First, cable operators are required “to scramble the signal of channels that customers have not purchased.” What does this have to do with the price of eggs in China? No one’s complaining about the channels they’re not paying for — cable operators have been doing a fine job of blocking them. We’re complaining about the channels we don’t want but are forced to pay for in order to get the channels we do want.

Second, cable operators are required “to offer ‘lockbox’ technology that blocks unwanted channels.” This solution requires us to pay for the channels we don’t want, then have the cable company block them out with traps so we can’t see them. And this is what they call a regulatory option “better suited for controlling content.” I have an idea, why not block the channel like they say and not charge us for it? I think it’s also interesting to note that one of the reasons the cable industry gives for the higher costs associated with à la carte pricing is that consumers would need to buy/rent a digital set-top box for it to work. Why couldn’t they just use traps like they’re suggesting we use in lieu of cable choice? According to Michael Willner, CEO of Insight Communications, said in a July 2004 Wired News article, “traps applied to so many channels would cause signal leakage and other problems.” So trapping isn’t a foolproof method of eliminating objectionable content either.

Third, and finally, the coup de grâce argument: the V-chip. This supposedly gives parents the ability to filter out objectionable content based on television ratings in televisions equipped with V-chip technology. However, according to a recent Parents Television Council study, this system does not work. “For this study, the PTC examined prime time entertainment programs from the first two weeks of the November 2003, February 2004, and May 2004 sweeps on the seven commercial broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, Pax, UPN, and the WB).” And here’s some of what they found:

● Every network had problems with the accurate and consistent application of content descriptors (a D, S, L, or V indicating the presence of suggestive dialogue, sexual behavior, foul language, or violence), which were added to the TV ratings system after complaints that the earlier age-based ratings system was too vague.
● To this day, NBC still does not use content descriptors on its programs. Moreover, 36% of NBC’s programs reviewed for this study received a TV-PG rating, even though many of these shows contained foul language and adult sexual content.
● Of the 85 PG-rated shows on ABC, 52% were missing necessary content descriptors. 40% of the PG-rated shows containing foul language lacked an L descriptor; 75% of shows containing violence lacked the V descriptor; 60% of the shows containing sexual dialogue lacked the D descriptor; and 92% of the shows containing sexual behavior lacked the S descriptor.
● CBS fared better than ABC with the content descriptors, but still has plenty of room for improvement. Of the 89 shows given a PG rating, 34% of the shows containing foul language lacked an L descriptor; 44% of the shows containing violence lacked the V descriptor; 57% of the shows containing sexual dialogue lacked the D descriptor; and none of the 19 shows containing sexual behavior featured the S descriptor.
● 42% of Fox’s PG-rated shows containing foul language lacked the L descriptor; 60% of the PG-rated shows containing violence lacked the V descriptor; 71% of the PG-rated shows containing suggestive dialogue lacked the D descriptor; and 76% of the shows containing sexual behavior lacked the S descriptor.

So, this obviously isn’t working either. The programmers aren’t living up to their end of the bargain, so the parents can’t count on the ratings.

In summary, the report didn’t adequately address the indecency problems, which is why many people want to have à la carte pricing as an option. If the cable industry were more socially responsible, they would figure out a way to offer some sort of family-friendly alternative to the current system. If à la carte pricing is really not possible as a business model, at least try to come up with something else that is profitable that will address parents’ concerns over objectionable content.