Comcast And Time Warner May Cave To FCC On Family Programming

[DaveColorado]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/12/09/comcast-and-time-warner-m_n_11954.html

The Federal Communications Commission has warned the nation's two leading cable TV companies that unwanted conditions could be imposed on their proposed acquisition of a rival if they do not agree to curb the proliferation of sexually explicit programming, according to company sources.

Faced with what some are describing as an ultimatum, Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. have sought to satisfy FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin's demands by pressuring the rest of the industry to come to a consensus on how to respond, said these sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the regulatory approval process.

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[meow2u3]

1. I like the idea of a kid-friendly channel package

A kid- and family-friendly channel package would appeal to parents who have tech-savvy kids who would watch adult programming despite the presence of parental controls on the cable set. Besides, basic and standard/expanded basic cable doesn't have parental controls because the signal goes directly into the TV, and many families have older TVs without the V-chip included.

In addition, a family-friendly tier of channels could save the parents a little bit on their cable bill by offering fewer channels than the standard issue.

[jedr]

2. How about the violence ?

Kids are going to be interested in sex no matter what you do. It's hard wired ( no pun intended). That's not to say that it needs to be encouraged. But guess what , people don't shot and kill each other everyday as a matter of the normal course of their day...Let's put it all on pay for view, then if you want to watch the cops killing bad guys on a hourly basis , you may!

[ryan_cats]

3. How hard is it to change the channel?

How hard is it to change the channel? How hard is it to program the v-chip? OK, I can see a bunch of dim witted wingnuts with their VCRs flashing 12:00 not knowing how.

These people are so afraid it makes me sick. Don't like the channel, turn it. Stern goes to satellite and now they want to regulate it? Pure B.S.

I don't like the pollution by Limpbaugh or O'Reilly but I don't want them regulated. O'Reilly actually had a good interview of Stern. First time I watched his cr*ppy show on purpose. Mr. Who's looking out for you must have needed a rating boost so he interviewed Stern.

If these companies cave, the F.C.C will start going after other companies. Who did the new F.C.C Commissioner go down on to get Powell's old job?

[yankeedem]

4. This is how corporate control leads to censorship

The FCC hints that they may not approve mergers, and the growth hungry corporations self-censor to protect their bottom line.