FCC TV-Violence Report Threatens Cable
Parental Controls, Ratings System Not Enough?
By Steve Donohue -- Multichannel News, 4/25/2007 7:59:00 PM
Parental controls offered by cable operators and the TV-ratings system aren’t enough to protect children from violence on TV, the Federal Communications Commission said in a report released late Wednesday.
Findings of in the report, which was requested by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, could threaten increased regulation of the pay TV industry.
While the cable industry has hoped to avoid new regulations by offering parental controls through digital set-tops that allow parents to block content by show titles, channels and program ratings, the FCC said parental controls “do not appear to be available on a sufficient number of cable-connected television sets to be considered an effective solution at this time.”
If Congress were to act the FCC’s recommendations, pay TV providers could eventually be forced to offer discounts to subscribers who opt not to receive channels that contain violent programming. “Congress could implement a time-channeling solution and/or mandate some other form of consumer choice in obtaining video programming, such as the provision by [multichannel-video-programming providers] of video channels provided on family tiers or on an a la carte basis (e.g., channel blocking and reimbursement),” the commission said in the report.
The FCC also pointed to TV studies that “demonstrate that the voluntary TV-ratings system is of limited effectiveness in protecting children from violent television content.”
In another finding that could boost calls for pay TV providers to offer subscribers a la carte programming packages, the FCC said multichannel providers “could provide consumers greater choice in how they purchase their programming so they could avoid violent programming (e.g., an a la carte regime would enable viewers to buy their television channels individually or in smaller bundles).”
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association said in a prepared statement that it hadn’t seen the report, but it believed parental controls and TV ratings already give consumers the ability to “choose which content is appropriate for their household.”
“Simple-sounding solutions, such as a la carte regulation of cable-TV packages, are misguided and would endanger cable’s high-quality family-friendly programming, leaving parents and children with fewer viewing options,” the NCTA added.
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