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U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog
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February 10, 2006
FCC Report Supports A La Carte Cable Pricing
A new FCC report supports consumer group arguments that cable prices would decline if consumers could select the channels they want a la carte. Conservative, family-based organizations also support a la carte, since their members are currently forced to accept and pay for family-unfriendly channels as part of their basic, extended or premium pricing bundles. PIRG's 2003 white paper The Failure of Cable Deregulation has details on numerous unfair practices of the cable industry. [Of course, be wary of claims now being made by the phone companies and their astro-turf front groups that allowing them to enter the video market on their own terms is the solution. It isn't, and white knights the phone companies are not.]
Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at February 10, 2006 07:13 AM
There have been a few stories recently about the phone companies sketchy practices and their Astroturf front groups. I know the SF Chronicle recently wrote a report about it.
Occam's razor dictates that the reason the phone companies would dupe consumers and regulators with Astroturf front groups is because they believe the regulations would ultimately give them an advantage over their competitors.
Posted by: Joe
at February 15, 2006 04:12 PM
I think you hit the main point of the argument (although it is often veiled as a dispute over pricing) here:
"family-based organizations also support a la carte, since their members are currently forced to accept and pay for family-unfriendly channels as part of their basic, extended or premium pricing bundles"
It is directly contradictory to the very argument of 'deregulation' or leaving the cable companies unregulated to force consumers to have to pay for channels over which they have no more choice than choosing the 'optimal' bundle. Who cares really whether prices don't go down, when you're really only watching the same channels anyway!
Posted by: Brad
at March 21, 2006 12:00 PM
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