Monday January 16, 2006

Circling the Wagons

Cable operators are scrambling to get their act together ahead of Thursday’s decency hearings before the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. According to TV Week (reg. required), executives plan to tout new family-friendly subscription tiers and unveil a PSA campaign aimed at educating consumers about, you know, the million other ways you can keep your kids from watching MTV.

Will these measures stem the regulatory tide being spearheaded by the FCC and the Parents Television Council? The PTC is already saying that the family tiers have been “designed to fail” by cable operators, but one TV Week source predicts that lawmakers will simply “claim victory and leave.” I plan to issue a full report after Thursday morning’s hearings.

And the decency debate is only going to get weirder. In an interview with Mediaweek, new NAB CEO David Rehr suggests that satellite radio should be subject to FCC regulation because such services are available, without a subscription, in rental cars! “These satellite companies have to decide if they want to truly be subscription only or face the obligation of living under FCC [indecency] rules,” he says.

Posted by jim at 05:32 AM ||