Proposal has diverse support

Dozens of newspapers around the United States are running an op-ed piece by FCC Chair Kevin Martin and Arizona Senator John McCain promoting "a la carte" cable—letting consumers decide for themselves which TV channels to buy.

"The solution to high cable bills isn't price controls or additional government regulation," they write. "It is more competition in the video marketplace and more consumer choice."

Martin and McCain want Congress to pass McCain's Consumers Having Options in Cable Entertainment Act (CHOICE). The bill, they say, "would help accelerate the penetration of new cable-service providers in our communities and would encourage the cable industry to offer channels individually or in smaller bundles."

The op-ed piece does not explain how exactly the law will accomplish this. In fact, the bill has yet to be introduced to the Senate or completely finished, a McCain staffer told LL-FCC this morning.

But this has not stopped Concerned Women for America (CWA) from endorsing it. CWA describes itself as a lobby dedicated to bringing "biblical principles to all levels of public policy." Yesterday the group praised McCain and Martin's proposal, saying that it will put "control back into families’ hands by giving them the most important tool of all: choice."

Martin has been pushing the a la carte concept for about six months. In December he released a statement urging cable companies to offer "family-friendly" packages to cable and satellite customers. On February 9th the FCC released a report suggesting that a la carte cable may be cost-effective for consumers. The study also argued with a previous FCC analysis that came to the opposite conclusion.

Right after the report's release, McCain announced that he would back an a la carte bill in the Senate. The move won support from the Consumer's Union (CU), also big a la carte fans. CU's Jeannine Kenney lauded McCain "for striking at the heart of the cable industry's flawed pricing scheme which forces consumers to buy packages of television channels they don't want and shouldn't have to pay for."