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Senators Fault Cable's Family Packages; They Want to Know Where ESPN Went

Posted on: Friday, 20 January 2006, 15:00 CST

By JENNIFER C. KERR, THE 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 R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., told cable and satellite executives at a Commerce Committee hearing on TV indecency.

Sen. George Allen, R-Va., also had doubts. "To have a family tier and not have sports on it, in our family, would not be proper family programming," he said.

Neither senator suggested the government should force the companies to redesign their packages, however.

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." Neither show currently runs on the sports network.

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

Source: Record, The; Bergen County, N.J.

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