CABLE TELEVISION Plan would make choices a la carte

Lawmakers are pushing for cable companies to offer individual channels.
WASHINGTON POST
WASHINGTON -- In the dream world of some television viewers, they would pay their cable or satellite companies only for the channels they want.
Some might not pay for MTV, because they don't want their 8-year-olds watching it. Others would turn down ESPN Classic, because they've already seen the 1975 World Series. Others would eschew TeleFutura, because they don't speak Spanish.
Reality is far different.
No U.S. cable or satellite company offers what are called "a la carte" plans. In order to get the Discovery Channel from Comcast Corp. cable company, for instance, viewers have to pay for an "expanded basic" package that includes MTV, FX, MSNBC and 33 other channels.
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.
Others want government to do something about the rising incidence of profanity and nudity found on pay-television systems.
One possible solution being proposed is a la carte cable, a way to give consumers more choice over what they watch and how much they pay for it. But it's not an answer the cable industry will swallow easily.
Senate hearing
At a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing, committee chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., peppered Cox Communications Inc. President James Robbins, asking the head of the nation's fourth-largest cable company why consumers have to pay for channels they don't want.
Robbins' answer: Giving consumers that degree of choice would cost too much.
Expensive set-top boxes would be needed to give consumers the pick-and-choose capability, and the upgrade could cost the industry billions of dollars. Companies would inevitably be forced to pass on some or all of the expense to subscribers.
"Frankly, that is where long-term the industry is going to go -- to video-on-demand," said Robbins, whose system has 6.3 million subscribers. "But there's a $30 [billion] to $40 billion bridge to get there."
Besides adding to the cost, cable companies say, selling channels individually might make it difficult for lesser-watched, niche channels to survive.
Under an a la carte system, top-rated cable channels such as USA Network would likely thrive because ratings suggest enough people would choose to buy it individually to make it worth a programmer's while.
However, less-watched channels that serve distinct but smaller audiences, such as TechTV and BET, may not survive, because not enough viewers would pay for them.
Under the current system, consumers effectively subsidize less-popular channels, which cable companies say provides diversity in the cable and satellite universe.
However, some consumer advocates and members of Congress don't buy that logic.
"When I go to the grocery store to buy a quart of milk, I don't have to buy a package of celery and a bunch of broccoli," McCain said in an interview. "I don't like broccoli."
He argues that it's not an either-or situation for cable companies: They could continue to offer packages for consumers who wanted them and a la carte for other viewers.
In the interview, McCain said he probably would propose an amendment this year -- it could be attached to an authorization or spending bill, he said -- requiring cable companies to offer a la carte programming.
What's being done
McCain is working with Consumers Union, the nonprofit organization that publishes Consumer Reports, to draft an amendment designed to make a la carte available.
Gene Kimmelman, director of public policy for Consumers Union, presented senators with summaries of Canadian digital cable plans that allow customers to buy channels a la carte.
The cable industry is urging the government not to return to the days when it regulated rates and demanded public access channels and other programming, arguing such mandates stifle innovation.
The industry is also under attack from people upset about content they consider indecent. The cable industry's major trade group, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, said earlier this week that the nation's cable companies would give consumers -- at no cost -- the equipment needed to block unwanted cable channels in their homes.