Multiple-Choice Cable Content Bill Planned

MULTIPLE-CHOICE CABLE CONTENT BILL PLANNED
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) are introducing a bill that would try to control cable content by giving the industry a choice among three regulatory approaches. The Family Choice Act of 2006 would require multichannel video providers to choose one of three options: 1) apply FCC broadcast indecency standards to their own programming; 2) offer an opt-out form of "a la carte" so subscribers could choose not to take certain channels; or 3) offer a family-friendly tier of programming. They will introduce the bill today -- the same day that the Senate is being briefed on a new $300 million content-control campaign from the TV industry, an effort meant, in part, to head off calls for mandated à la carte cable, but representatives for both legislators say the timing was coincidence. Parents Television Council President, Brent Bozell, a fan of a la carte, will join the legislators for the announcement.
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* Bill Would Impose Program Mandates
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6356772.html?display=Breaking+News