Comcast to Offer Family-Friendly Tier

Comcast Thursday became the second U.S. cable TV company to announce a Family Choice Tier of channels free of sex and violence.

Time Warner Cable was the first to announce its family-friendly packaging less than a week ago.

Now Philadelphia-based Comcast announced its package of 11 channels including the Disney Channel, HGTV and the Weather Channel, which will cost $31.20 a month in addition to its basic service charge, Daily Variety reported. Time Warner will charge an average $33 a month for its Family Tier, comprised of 15 channels.

The moves are seen as preemptory to keep Congress and the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the programming offered on cable TV, Variety said.

Subscribers to the family friendly packages will still get programming that could be considered objectionable, since basic cable includes networks such as USA, TNT, ESPN, Fox News and TBS, Variety noted.