Nick
01-30-06, 05:24 AM
Guest Editorial
by Evie Haskell
It's kind of fun watching them hop around in D.C. these days as the
great morality game plays out in Congress, at the FCC and in the
offices of numerous (no doubt very frustrated) media lobbyists.
Forgive our obvious bias on this, but why is it that the folks who
proclaim themselves champions of limited government are so
bent on using government tools to influence, and even mandate,
their own versions of morality? And whatever happened to that
good 'ol American self-reliance, i.e., a finger on the Off button which
the current in-crowd is so fond of promoting?
Okay, okay ... you've heard all this before. But watching platform
providers and programmers scramble to satisfy D.C.'s urge for
morally-correct children's programming is a very disheartening
lesson in democracy. First, the FCC's top-dog Kevin Martin waves
the black flag of a la carte over the media industry's head. The
media guys, being no dummies, realize that they can probably
placate him with a "moral" solution to the TV viewing experience
for kids, so they come up with "family" tiers. Most of these platform
folks already have significant parental controls built into their systems
but, hey, there's nothing like not even having to think about what little
Johnnie and Jane are watching. So 24/7 family time here we come.
Of course, this family time is gonna cost something. Current prices
for the tiers range from $19.99/mo for around 30 channels (offered
by - surprise, surprise - DISH) to DirecTV's $34.99/mo for more than
40 channels including locals. (DISH will add locals for an extra $5/mo.)
The big cable guys have family packages in the low $30 price ranges,
including the required basic-only channels and (usually) digital boxes.
So $20 to $35 per month for programming isn't all that bad given today's
entertainment prices. But wait ... there's a hitch ... not a ONE of the
"family tiers" we've seen includes any sports channels.
Well, golly gee. Sports programming is EXPENSIVE. Put it on the family
tier and you've gotta boost prices significantly. But what family doesn't
want sports in their TV packages? So who's gonna buy these packages?
Probably very few families. Which isn't gonna make"Who-Me-Regulate?"
very happy. Which, as our friend Sean Bratches at ESPN was recently
quoted in CableFAX as saying, will likely raise that black a la carte issue
once again.
So flap your wings and kick your feet, folks, this chicken dance isn't over.
Evie Haskell can be reached at MediaBiz.com evie@Mediabiz.com
ww.SkyReport.com - used with permission
by Evie Haskell
It's kind of fun watching them hop around in D.C. these days as the
great morality game plays out in Congress, at the FCC and in the
offices of numerous (no doubt very frustrated) media lobbyists.
Forgive our obvious bias on this, but why is it that the folks who
proclaim themselves champions of limited government are so
bent on using government tools to influence, and even mandate,
their own versions of morality? And whatever happened to that
good 'ol American self-reliance, i.e., a finger on the Off button which
the current in-crowd is so fond of promoting?
Okay, okay ... you've heard all this before. But watching platform
providers and programmers scramble to satisfy D.C.'s urge for
morally-correct children's programming is a very disheartening
lesson in democracy. First, the FCC's top-dog Kevin Martin waves
the black flag of a la carte over the media industry's head. The
media guys, being no dummies, realize that they can probably
placate him with a "moral" solution to the TV viewing experience
for kids, so they come up with "family" tiers. Most of these platform
folks already have significant parental controls built into their systems
but, hey, there's nothing like not even having to think about what little
Johnnie and Jane are watching. So 24/7 family time here we come.
Of course, this family time is gonna cost something. Current prices
for the tiers range from $19.99/mo for around 30 channels (offered
by - surprise, surprise - DISH) to DirecTV's $34.99/mo for more than
40 channels including locals. (DISH will add locals for an extra $5/mo.)
The big cable guys have family packages in the low $30 price ranges,
including the required basic-only channels and (usually) digital boxes.
So $20 to $35 per month for programming isn't all that bad given today's
entertainment prices. But wait ... there's a hitch ... not a ONE of the
"family tiers" we've seen includes any sports channels.
Well, golly gee. Sports programming is EXPENSIVE. Put it on the family
tier and you've gotta boost prices significantly. But what family doesn't
want sports in their TV packages? So who's gonna buy these packages?
Probably very few families. Which isn't gonna make"Who-Me-Regulate?"
very happy. Which, as our friend Sean Bratches at ESPN was recently
quoted in CableFAX as saying, will likely raise that black a la carte issue
once again.
So flap your wings and kick your feet, folks, this chicken dance isn't over.
Evie Haskell can be reached at MediaBiz.com evie@Mediabiz.com
ww.SkyReport.com - used with permission