Family-Tier Channels Draw Fire

By Jennifer C. Kerr Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Senators expressed skepticism Thursday about the family-friendly packages of channels that cable and satellite operators are crafting in response to government concerns about indecent and racy shows on television.

The packages don’t include popular sports channels such as ESPN, prompting lawmakers to suggest they were designed to fail.

“It almost seems like an invitation to an unmarketable package,” Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., told cable and satellite executives at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on TV indecency.

Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia also had doubts.

“To have a family tier and not have sports on it, in our family, would not be proper family programming,” Allen said. “You’re going to have to come up with a family tier plus sports.”

Neither senator suggested the government should force the companies to redesign their packages. Allen said cable and satellite companies should respond voluntarily to the demands of consumers.

David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corp. — the nation’s largest cable company — said it decided not to include ESPN because of what he termed “some really disturbing non-family- appropriate programming.” He cited two dramas that aired on ESPN — “Playmakers” and “Tilt.”

The head of EchoStar Communications Corp., owner of the Dish Network satellite company, said he has run into difficulties with some programmers who are unwilling to offer their channels separately from the traditional “bundled” packages of channels that are part of existing contracts.

Charles Ergen, EchoStar’s chairman and chief executive, became the latest industry executive to announce a family-friendly tier. Ergen said it would launch such Feb. 1 with 40 channels for $19.99. Customers could purchase local broadcast channels for another $5.

The industry has come under pressure recently from lawmakers and the Federal Communications Commission to do more to shield children from raunchy programming.

Following a direct appeal from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin late last year, the three biggest cable companies — Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications Inc. — announced plans to offer family- oriented packages of channels.

Satellite company DirecTV Inc. announced a family tier on Wednesday.

In urging the industry to help parents navigate the hundreds of channels on cable and satellite TV, Martin encouraged executives to explore the family-friendly packages. Another option he suggested, which many in the industry oppose, is an “a la carte” system in which customers could choose and pay for only those channels they want to watch. Most cable executives say a la carte would drive up costs and lead to the demise of channels that can’t attract enough advertising dollars or viewers. In a reversal of the FCC’s previous position, Martin is expected to release a report soon showing that a la carte may help lower prices.

Consumer groups have criticized the family-tier option, saying it offers TV viewers too little choice. Those groups and conservative advocates continue to press for an a la carte pricing system.

“The ultimate parental responsibility, parental right, parental empowerment is giving the parent the right and the authority to choose what will be aired on his television set or her television set,” said L. Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council.

Jack Valenti, the former president of the Motion Picture Association of America, told senators that parents already have the controls they need to block objectionable programming. He unveiled a new campaign by broadcasters, cable, satellite and other industries that will educate parents about the V-chip, television ratings and cable and satellite blocking tools available to them.

On the Net: Senate Commerce Committee: commerce.senate.gov