Lawsuit Seeks a la carte Channel Choices

LAWSUIT SEEKS A LA CARTE CHANNEL CHOICES
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Alex Veiga]
The U.S. pay TV industry amounts to a cartel because it maintains profits by offering channels in prepackaged tiers rather than ''a la carte,'' according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles. The federal lawsuit names every major cable and satellite television system operator as well as every major cable and broadcast television network. ''The antitrust laws protect the right of choice,'' antitrust lawyer Maxwell M. Blecher said. ''Here the customer is denied that choice.'' The complex web of contractual arrangements among service providers and networks amounts to a monopoly or cartel that has ''deprived consumers of choice, caused them to pay inflated prices for cable television and forced them to pay for cable channels they do not want and do not watch,'' Blecher wrote in the complaint filed on behalf of cable subscribers in several states. The complaint, which alleges a conspiracy to monopolize as well as violations of federal antitrust laws, names nine plaintiffs, but Blecher wants the U.S. District Court to certify it as a class action.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/09/21/daily.2/

* Cable Sued Over Program Bundling
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6480423.html?rssid=193