FCC's Martin Calls For 'A La Carte' Cable Pricing

In a rare bit of Washington theater, it was Ralphie from the Sopranos taking on the FCC's Harry Potter in what amounted to a preview of the upcoming Congressional showdown over potential television indecency regulation.

While it was not an official hearing, Tuesday's Open Forum on Decency hosted by Senate Commerce committee chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, gave ample Webcast air time to representatives of both sides of the debate over what should or should not be done to regulate indecency on the airwaves, especially on cable and satellite television services.

Indecency regulation ideas, a hot topic since the entry of wardrobe malfunction into the entertainment lexicon, are key parts of proposed telecom reform legislation that Congress will study in earnest early next year.

While the list of speakers at Tuesday's forum was long, the bully pulpit belonged to Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin (who could act as a stand-in for a certain teenage wizard). Martin, whose agency enforces indecency regulations for over-the-air broadcasters in the U.S., used his speaking time to champion ideas like "a la carte" packaging of cable channels, or separate adult-only or family-only channel bundles as methods to better help parents keep children's eyes off inappropriate content.

The support for a la carte packaging is a reversal of recent FCC policy; according to a report this week in the Wall Street Journal, an upcoming FCC paper on cable TV will champion a la carte as a potentially less-expensive option, contradicting a similar review conducted in 2004 under then-chairman Michael Powell that found a la carte to be a more-expensive proposition for consumers.Cable and satellite broadcasting representatives, who have largely escaped the regulation faced by over-the-air broadcasting, generally oppose Martin's views, having long called such regulation an invasion of free speech. They similarly reject Martin's conjecture that without industry cooperation, regulation would be necessary to police the cable and satellite services.

"Parents need to be more involved," said Martin Tuesday, acknowledging in part the argument that says the best control is the "off" button found on all televisions. But Martin, who thinks that channel rating systems and programming guides aren't good enough, added that "I think the industry needs to do more [to prevent widespread viewing of adult-oriented content]." The industry's "lack of action is notable," Martin said.One of the more eloquent voices on the keep-your-hands-off-my-content side of the argument was actor Joey Pantoliano, whose last disagreement with Tony Soprano ended with Ralph's head on the inside of a bowling-ball bag. During his somewhat passion-free presentation, "Ralphie" noted that new obscenity-violation fines -- such as the $500,000 penalities proposed in draft legislation from Stevens -- could act as a silent hammer against free-speech experimentation and expression.

While the political pressure from the Bush-backed Martin and the Senate heavyweight Stevens may force the cable industry into some cosmetic compromises, Washington watchers don't expect any significant legislative changes in the near future.

Telecom analysts at research house Legg Mason said in a report Tuesday that several economic factors -- including the fact that many cable channels might go out of business in an a la carte scheme, or that cable prices might rise -- will keep such ideas out of upcoming telecom reform legislation. "For now, the economic realities of such a requirement are likely to be too problematic for Congress to agree on legislation," the Legg Mason report concluded.

In a question-and-answer period after the forum, Stevens said that he felt the committee had "made some progress" toward a shared solution, something that could satisfy both sides without the need for legislation."I believe we’ve made some progress today in terms of getting greater understanding by each portion of this circle," said Stevens, according to a release from his office. "We haven’t reached any conclusions, but I think we’ve got some material we can work with now and get ready to try and deal with the bills that are before us. I’m interested in getting a voluntary agreement, if it’s possible, that will lead to a ratings system with an effective control mechanism for families to control what content comes into their homes. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have to go to the floor."