Congress To Force Cable a la Carte Plans

unassimilatible writes "Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain seems to be leaning towards sponsoring legislation mandating something I have wanted for a long time: Forcing cable companies to offer "a la carte" programming packages. No U.S. cable or satellite currently offers such a plan. However, as the Washington Post reports, "That may change, if some lawmakers and consumer groups get their way, as the cable industry finds itself under increasing scrutiny. Lawmakers report that their constituents are angry about cable bills that have risen at three times the rate of inflation since the industry was largely deregulated in 1996." McCain money quote: "I go down to buy a loaf of bread. I don't have to buy broccoli and milk to go with it." Bottom line is, cable companies have a government-authorized monopoly, so maybe they need to recieve government-mandated "innovation." Why should I pay for 15 non-English channels?"

Non English?

[ellem]

Why should I pay for 15 non-English channels?

Dude Xuxa, ilLvatello, those chicks are all so hot and slutty.

Re:on the other hand

[Killjoy_NL]

Because your tv probably doesn't support more than a 100 channels :P

Re:I'm in.

[stateofmind]

Don't drop PAX! They play the censored version of Sopranos!

Tony, how in the *beep* did you think I *beep* *beep* *beep* the car *beep* *beep* and take his *beep* head *beep* over to Frankies *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* *beep* the end.

Josh

Free market economics

[pubjames]

Lawmakers report that their constituents are angry about cable bills that have risen at three times the rate of inflation since the industry was largely deregulated in 1996.

I thought the theory was that unregulated markets drove down prices and were good for consumers...

Give me a break.

[Anonymous Coward]

lol, tech tv survive? don't get me wrong, cat schwartz is a hottie, but if I need tech info I have waaaay better sources than what tech tv shows.

sci-fi go away? heh. sci-fi will NEVER go away. there are too many geeks out there with questionable taste for cheese like Lexx for that channel to ever die. which is good, because decent programming can then still survive on that channel.

It's made up for

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, but it's balanced out by the hours and hours of utterly inane stand-up comedy.

Re:Quality

[That's Unpossible!]

Don't forget that quality has also dropped noticeably.

Prove it. I call bullshit. The 'poor quality' argument is a favorite of the "HEY EVERYONE, I DON'T OWN A TV, LET ME TELL YOU WHY" crowd.

I enjoy: The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex and the City, The Simpsons, The Daily Show, The West Wing, Arrested Development, Survivor (the only reality show I watch or have any interest in), Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Dennis Miller's new show on CNBC, ESPN SportsCenter, HDTV live sports, and now HBO has rolled out their next good show, Deadwood.

There is PLENTY of quality programming on TV.

Just because there is also plenty of unadulterated SHIT out there doesn't mean the quality of all programming is down. You say the quality has "dropped noticeably." Prove it. I don't see it. I also don't read my horoscope or believe causation when there is only correlation.

Re:And here Slashdot shows its leftist bent

[maiku]

...and then spend an hour Removing all the shopping and religious channels, as well as Fox News and A&E.

Indeed, and don't forget Discovery Health! Nothing like flipping into footage of gastric bypass surgery during dinner...

Re:This will do nothing

[mjh]

The cable company isn't sponsoring daily corporate carnivals for the CEO's kids with the money they make.

Ummm... are you sure about that? [cnn.com]

Cleaning your own mess.

[Syntax Heir]

It really torques me to read these kinds of stories. The government LOVES to step in and play the hero when they solve a "problem" THEY created.

Hmm...
Authorizing a monopoly = Problem
Legislating a 'solution' != Praise

There is no other institution on this earth better at taking credit for fixing something it shouldn't have broken.

Citizen---"Ow! You just broke my leg"
US Govt.---"Here is a federally authorized and provided crutch"
Citizen---"Thanks for nothing!"
US Govt.---"You're welcome."
Populace---*Cheers for the benevolent government who is sensitive to the needs of its citizens*

Boooooooooo!

Re:Non English?

[geoffspear]

If you don't want to speak Navaho, go back to England, you fucking immigrant!

Poor Senator McCain

[missing000]

"I go down to buy a loaf of bread."

You just can't make stuff like that up. I say he has bigger problems than the cost of cable, but who's to say? Maybe if his cable bill was lower he could afford bread on the salary we provide for him.

Re:My thumb thanks you

[jcsehak]

Can the cable companies really disambiguate...

You just reminded me which buzzword I find most annoying ;)

Re: Evil Government Intrusion

[el_gordo101]

I haven't watched cable TV in 7 years.

Area Man [theonion.com], is that you?

Re:He who pays the Piper calls the tune

[metamatic]

But even at those prices, I'd still save money.

Re:He who pays the Piper calls the tune

[liquidsin]

Patent this idea immediately! Call it something catchy, like "Pay-Per-View".

Re:Regional monopoly

[Don'tTreadOnMe]

The correct term is "regional monopoly". It applies to phone companies, Department stores (i.e., target/Wal-Mart & home depot/Lowe's) and cable companies.

I don't know about your town, but in my town, Winchester, VA, USA, I can stand in one parking lot and throw rocks in four directions, hitting, in order, a Target, a Wal Mart, a Lowes, and a Home Depot.

None of them have a local monopoly, but they all call the law when you throw rocks at them.

Easy solution. (wait for it. . .)

[Fantastic Lad]

Cancel your cable subscription.

--Having a cable connection is like having a meth pusher on speed dial. If you've used it once, you'll want more. If you have easy access to it, you'll access it frequently, and spend many hours staring glassy-eyed across your living room, happy as a potted plant, losing your mind synapse by synapse.

We truly live in a nation of living dead.

I can't believe they're legislating this nonsense. "We the people legally demand the correct dosage and we want it affordable!" (Twitch.)

Goebbels would be tearing up with pride.

-FL

Re:Canadians are used to this

[Scottl_h]

I could handle all RUSH all the time, but who else is there? Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, Celine Dion? That's probably why most of the Canadian population lives close to the US border - to pick up US radio!

Re:Yep... Case in point -

[Anonymous Coward]

My parents... are litterally in a 'rock in a hard place'

The cable company has frozen them in carbonite inside a cave?

(Or do you mean that they are, figuratively, between a rock and a hard place with respect to their TV viewing options?)