Free the Cable Box

[SOURCE: The Boston Globe, AUTHOR: Editorial Staff]
[Commentary] What do cable subscribers do if they don't like the offerings of "family-friendly" tiers? It's take it or leave it like all the other cable packages. Comcast and the other cable companies argue that allowing subscribers to pick and choose would be too expensive and force little-watched channels off the air. Maybe they are right, but without trying the a la carte option, no one will ever know for sure. Cable television is the kind of semimonopoly that cries out for government regulation -- maybe not the price controls that were lifted in 1996, but some consumer protection. It's probably too much to expect the FCC to insist on a la carte immediately. But the Commission should make it a condition of the Adelphia deal that Comcast -- and Time Warner, which is also buying part of the company -- report back in a few months with the numbers of subscribers who sign up for the Family Tier. If it is not popular, the next step is to insist on an a la carte experiment.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/01/08/free_the_cable_box/