In an effort to offer viewers a way of blocking indecency and obscenity, several cable networks accounting for 56 percent of U.S. subscribers will offer the new option, National Cable and Telecommunications Association spokesman Paul Rodriguez said. Currently, obscenity and indecency standards apply only to over-the-air broadcasters.
A Time Warner Cable spokesman said that during the next few weeks the company will announce a family-oriented package that could be available by March. Additionally, Comcast also will offer a family package.
The family service would function as an alternative to extended basic channels and most likely will be available only to digital cable subscribers, NCTA President and Chief Executive Kevin McSlarrow said. He added that the price for family-choice tiers and channels included would vary among providers. Currently, out of 66 million subscribers in U.S. households, about 26 million have digital cable.
Despite the change among cable companies, Rodriguez said the NCTA opposes a family package.
“In a world in which everybody can be offended by something, what is it that you can put into a tier that can make everybody happy?" Rodriguez said. "We think parental controls are the best option because it means each individual household can set exactly what they want their household to get."
Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin told the Senate Commerce Committee that a family-oriented tier would satisfy his push to allow customers to avoid programming they find objectionable. Martin also said that a la carte programming would help parents screen channels, though the option has been less attractive to the cable industry.
Some industry analysts have suggested that the FCC is showing greater interest in cable and satellite programming because of Howard Stern’s impending switch from broadcast radio to satellite and his recent launch of pay-per-view TV programming, both of which feature uncensored content, including interviews with porn stars that sometimes involve nudity and sexual situations.
Various members of Congress are considering boosting the size of fines the FCC imposes for indecent broadcasts, and expanding restrictions on obscenity to apply to cable and satellite providers.
McSlarrow added that he hopes the cable industry's voluntary actions will persuade the government not to impose new restrictions on cable companies.
"I really hope that you take mandates off the table," McSlarrow told the committee during a meeting regarding indecency in programming earlier this week. "If the government intrudes into this place, they will get it wrong."
