FCC Actively Seeking to Regulate Cable TV Content - OUTRAGEOUS!

This is absolutely outrageous. The FCC is essentially playing the role of a racketeer with the Comcast / Adelphia merger, asking the cable companies to adopt decency standards for a PAY SERVICE. This is following what is a very reasonable move by cable companies to offer "Family friendly" packages.

This is out in the open - the FCC is seeking to take away YOUR right to PAY for service and watch what you'd like. I urge you to make yourself aware of this issue.


http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/13374243.htm

FCC uses Adelphia deal for leverage

The agency reportedly pushed Comcast and Time to limit programs that are sexually explicit.

By Sallie Hofmeister

Los Angeles Times


The Federal Communications Commission is trying to use its leverage in a proposed cable-TV acquisition to force Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. to curb sexually explicit programming on their pay-TV systems, company sources said.

Faced with what some are describing as an ultimatum, Comcast and Time Warner, the nation's two leading cable-TV providers, have sought to satisfy FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's demands by pressuring the industry to come to a consensus on the indecency issue, the sources said. They requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the regulatory approval process.

Martin publicly called last week for all cable operators to offer channels "a la carte" instead of in bundled packages, reversing the agency's position under Martin's predecessor, Michael Powell. A la carte pricing would allow subscribers to have only the channels they wanted.

Also in recent weeks, sources say, Martin has made clear in closed-door meetings that he would like Time Warner and Comcast to help advance his anti-indecency agenda.

The two companies need FCC approval for their proposed $17.6 billion purchase of bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.

Through a spokesman, Martin declined to comment. So did representatives of Comcast, of Philadelphia, and Time Warner, of New York.

Cable operators are not eager to pick a fight with the FCC. While the agency lacks the authority to make rules, it does have the power to rein in the industry on several fronts. For example, it will determine the speed at which telephone carriers are allowed to enter the pay-TV business.

Phone companies, seeing this as an opportunity to build political capital in Washington, have seized on the indecency issue by agreeing to allow customers to subscribe only to channels they want.

Although reluctant to anger Martin, many cable programmers quietly complain that he is trying to extract concessions from an entire industry using leverage from a single transaction - the Adelphia deal - that stands to benefit only two companies.

The cable industry fears that if it doesn't agree to a voluntary solution on the indecency issue, federal policymakers could soon force an alternative on them that would far more restrictive.

Eager to avoid that, Comcast and Time Warner have been lobbying their programming suppliers in recent weeks to adopt the indecency standard that now applies to broadcasters.

Several suppliers, however, object to the broadcast standard, which restricts indecent programming between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

The suppliers argue that imposing the same rules on cable and satellite that apply to networks that use the public airwaves is logistically impossible and would be particularly disruptive to any channels that air uncut theatrical movies or racy shows.

Comcast and Time Warner are now actively promoting the creation of a family-friendly tier of channels, despite resistance from some of their suppliers and the limitations posed by existing contracts between programmers and distributors.

"If there's a need for a family tier and it could be accommodated with programming contracts, we can meet those concerns," John Alchin, Comcast's cochief financial officer, told investors Thursday at a conference in New York.

It amazes me how kids can be innundated with violence around the clock, yet media gurus freak out any time someone sees a nipple.


In other news, it's only a matter of time before the FCC moves to Iraq... ... ......


For a giggle, I love what comes up first when I searched that:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Iraq+Paid+Programming

This has been coming for a long time. When the FCC finally defeated Howard Stern, they said their next target would be cable TV, particularly HBO.

The saddest part, really, is how stupid the voting public really is, not to see things like this coming. So many people who had been on the fence in the 2004 election said they voted for Bush because they admired or identified with his religious convictions. These same people probably will never put it together that it's those same convictions that are going to be the reason they can't watch their Sopranos anymore because Tony dropped one too many F bombs and the FCC didn't like what they heard.

This administration preaches "freedom, freedom, freedom," but in reality they stand for nothing of the kind. What they mean is you're "free" to say only what they want to hear, to hear what only they say, and to watch only what they want you to see. Anything else is "indecent", "unpatriotic", or both.

How the hell did we get here?

Defeated Stern?

We'll see what radio looks like in 2 years and then see who defeats who, eh?
I got my Sirius radio and I'm stoked about not putting up with the usual crap that I have to put up with on the radio. Internet radio heralded this advent of broader selection, and I don't think it'll ever be the same old payola.


Fear.

It's like invasion of the body snatchers.

Great thread Hiro. I had heard about the change in cable company lineups but I didn't realize that it was the FCC twisting arms to forward a puritanical agenda.

~Ulrika~

The founding fathers died, time passed, and people forgot everything they stood for in favor of cheap promises by organizations with only a care for their immediate interests and silly myopic ambitions.

Why?

Americans are a never ending mystery to me. If someone dosnt want to watch a program, they need not turn to that channel. In fact these channels cost money, so they have to pay for the privage.

Why should some PRUDE in Washington decide what is viewable? Next thing they will decide that SL needs to be sacked.

Because nine out of ten prudes need to see their point of view legitimized, so they can sleep easier knowing they made the world a "better" place.

Honestly, I doubt huge money-makers like cable companies will take it. If the US Gov't approves laws like the recent deregulation measures, I don't think they'll pull through with strong-arming cable. Unlike radio, which was always a pushover (*cough, payola, cough*), cable TV is huge, huge money.

And I think the whole family package agreements is a very reasonable measure being put forward by cable companies, set to take a hit to profits because of that. FCC is pressing their luck.

But at the same time, the FCC is out of control. Literally less than a dozen people control the entire country's public airwaves. They have no written set of guidelines, and they don't hide the agenda that they are anti-sex.

Yes, they defeated Stern, in that they got him off the public airwaves. I have Sirius as well and I love it, but that's not really the point. Howard's a good businessman, and he's making the most of a tuff situation, but he never should have had to be in that situation to begin with. If he wanted to go into satellite, great, but he should have been able to do it purely for that reason, not because he was forced out of traditional radio.

You do know what they were doing, right? Towards the end of it, they were changing the regulations every day, and then going back and finding old broadcasts that were "in violation" and then issuing fines. They were even pitching legislation against him personally. All of this was completely unconstitutional, of course, but there was no stopping it. They wanted to get him, and they did. It's not the first time this administration has side-stepped the constitution to get what they want, and it won't be the last.

How long do you really think it will be before they go after satellite radio just like they're going after cable right now? I'm pretty sure the only reason they haven't bothered yet is because it's a pretty small fish right now and they're fixated on other things at the moment. I hate to be such a doomsayer, but these people are ruthless, and I doubt they'll be content to leave satellite or anything else alone. They won't rest until everyone and everything is under their thumb, all in the name of "freedom".

I'm liable to get flamed by someone for saying this, but:


Freedom is the new jihad. Seriously.



You know, it kinda sounds like a country western term, like "jeeee-haa!"
-Robin Williams

Ooh! There's a lot of great stuff flying around the Off-Topic forum tonight. I'm glad I tuned in.

~Ulrika~

I jsut want to say F*&% old boring Stern.

XM and Opie and Anthony all the way.

I'm on a roll because I'm procrastinating on my final semester project.


But that's another story entirely. Group project, only person that actively contributes... SSDD really.

I hear that, but radio is dying. If anything, Stern was helping to keep radio's heart beating in pace. Consider:
1. No one really wants to put up with static. All other major communication mediums are digital - TV, Internet, telephone, etc.
2. Choice is dominatng the aforementioned mediums. Radio has very little.
3. Major radio stations are radically scaling back. In New York, the legendary 101.1 is now "Jack FM" which is basically an iPod and some smart-assed guy doing crappy 1-liners betwen every couple songs. KROK - the #1 rock station for years and years - is going all talk.
4. Stern is getting half a billion over 5 years. That doesn't sound like any kind of defeat.

Rather than keeping radio strong, radio is going to die, and the FCC will lose an entire medium of which to control



Yeah... I'm familiar with the tactics.


They may get a ratings system, but I doubt they could regulate a pay service sucessfully. Recent laws regulating video game sales lost out. We already have ratings for cable and movies and video games. They may go after satellite radio, but the worst that will happen is that Sirius will threaten to relocate to Toronto and jeopardize billions in tax dollars.

Hmm, how can I explain the mystery that is today's America? The problem, Ranma, is that you're obviously an articulate, thoughtful, common sense-minded person who understands logic. That puts you in a very poor position to understand how things really work here. You see, unlike you, American politicians are, for the most part, fear-mongering control-freaks who kiss babies in one hand while stealing their lollypops with the other, and the American public these days is all too happy to let them get away with it just so long as they're not required to think too hard. Intelligence and logic don't play much of a role in today's America.

Ulirika said it's like Body Snatchers. I think it's a bit more like Men In Black. Remember what Tommy Lee Jones said in that movie? "Humans for the most part don't have a clue. They don't want one... 1500 years ago, everybody 'knew' that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody 'knew' that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you 'knew' that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll 'know' tomorrow."

The average American "knows" that they have "freedom", but they don't have a clue what that means. They "know" that they're "patriotic", but they don't have a clue what that means either. They "know" the have "values", but they don't have a clue what those values actually define. They "know" they have rights, but they don't have a clue what they're doing when they give up those rights one by one just so they can hear politicians continue to refer to them as "freedom-loving patriots with good values".

Actually, now that I think about it, I'll take the Body Snatchers and the Men In Black, and I'll raise it a Tommy Boy as well. "If you want me take a dump in a box and slap 'Guarantee' on it I will, but then all you've got is a guaranteed piece of crap." Well, George W Bush and his buddies took a dump and wrapped it in a campain, and slapped the words "values", "integrity", and "freedom" on the outside, and people bought it. All we actually got though was a piece of crap in a very tiny box.

I hope every day that this country will wake up from this era of phenominal stupidity, and that we can somehow undo the damage that has been done before it's too late.

You people keep talking about Sirius.

As a former Sirius stock holder, let me state that that company is a money pit that has no idea how to make money.. It will be sold to XM with in 3 years. I am now an XM stock holder and thats a company that knows the business of profit.

If that's true, wouldn't you want to hold stock in Sirius?

In a word....No

Can't argue with any of that. Well, maybe with number 4. Sure, he's making a buttload of money, but again, doing what he's doing should have been entirely his choice. He was able to make lemonade in the end, which is to his credit, but that doesn't negate the giant lemons that were thrown at him in the first place.

Anyway, WTF is with Jack FM? We have it here in Buffalo too, and I can't stand the damned thing. Infinity has got to be on crack to have come up with something like that. It's just plain awful. No other way to describe it.

We used to have some great stations here. They'd all dropped over the years, but the last hold-out good rock station was 92.9 WBUF, which was titled aplty enough "Buffalo's Rock Station" (same station that plays Howard in the morning, coincidentally). All of a sudden one day their long established rock programming was gone with no explanation, and they were now a 24-hour talk/comedy station. Well, needless to say, that went over like a lead balloon. It lasted all of about 2 weeks before they became JackFM.

If I hear "we play what we want" one more time I think I'm gonna have to hunt down this Jack person wherever he lives and "call in the brothas to get mideival on his ass with a pair of plyers and a blowtorch". What ever happened to playing what 'I' want? Buffalo's Rock Station had no trouble doing that. Why the hell can't Jack?

We're somewhat lucky that we can pick up "Southern Ontario's Best Rock" from here, so at least we've got something, but they were never the best choice to begin with.

So yes, radio is definitely dying, and maybe Howard was doing nothing more than keeping a ghost ship afloat past long past its day. I wish he didn't have to stop doing it though. The FCC need to all be taken out back and beaten to death with a large, rusty FM antenna.

Not to go *too* much down a tangent, but no choice is really 100% "yours" - conditions that bound any situation restrict what any choice is. Else, everyone would be able to do anything. But now we're delving into philosophy.



Hiiii, I'm jaaaack. and I don't care what you listen to ... don't call us because we don't f***ing caaaaaare, and no one's here. And now for more completely f***ing random music .... we play what we want ... well, no, not really, we play 4 decades of top-10 heavy-rotation hits and no goddam other thing. Jack FM: Where radio is a dying wheezing old has-been lounge singer.

Hahahahaha! I almost fell out of my chair reading that. Maybe it's just because it's late, but seiously, that really says it all. You nailed it. Thanks for the best laugh I've had today.

*applause* That's exactly right and people are too blind to see it. Welcome to fundamentalist Christian America. The new third world.