Charter supports legislation proposing a la carte cable
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Senator John McCain has proposed legislation that aims to address key issues facing the cable television industry, and he has our support. The senator recently introduced the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013, which seeks to give consumers the ability to purchase individual cable channels known as a la carte cable TV. "We applaud Senator McCain for introducing the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013, says CEO and President Tom Rutledge.
"It is clear that consumers are being forced to purchase content that they don't want or need, Rutledge says. The tying together of networks by programming giants, combined with a lack of consistency in pricing for distributors and a complete lack of transparency surrounding that pricing, creates a no-win situation for consumers, who are forced to purchase large bundles of program content at prices that continue to escalate despite the myriad alternatives enabled by current technology. Giving consumers more choice in this difficult economic climate is the right regulatory path, and Senator McCain's proposed legislation is a logical step in that direction, says Rutledge.
According to Senator McCain, the bill has three principal objectives:
1.encourage the wholesale and retail unbundling of programming by distributors and programmers;
2.establish consequences if broadcasters choose to downgrade their over-the-air service; and
3.eliminate the sports blackout rule for events held in publicly-financed stadiums.My legislation would eliminate regulatory barriers to a la carte by freeing-up multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) like, cable, satellite and others offering video services to offer any video programming service on an a la carte basis, McCain says.
On the Senate floor he concluded his remarks by saying, In the end, the Television Consumer Freedom Act is about giving the consumer more choices when watching television.
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