Page 23 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

| À La Carte Cable Pr c ng

(see http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/cable/main.asp). Consumers Union, mean-
while, has advocated for ownership restrictions to curtail the power of media
conglomerates from using their leverage to charge cable operators large fees for
programming. They have also called for reinstating cable-rate regulations given
that cable rates had risen 2.5 times faster than inflation since Congress eliminated
rate regulations in 1999. But regulators have resisted these efforts. Thus, Con-
sumers Union focused on à la carte pricing as a strategy to lower costs, increase
quality, and allow viewers to not pay for channels they do not want to watch.
Most cable providers strongly opposed these efforts to tamper with their
profitable, vertically integrated business models and editorial powers to bundle
programs and set subscription rates. Other media conglomerates that did not
own cable systems, such as Disney, also opposed à la carte because they made
huge profits by using broadcast retransmission consent rules (Disney owns ABC
and major-market TV stations) to demand large fees and prime channel posi-
tions for their cable networks (such as ESPN, ESPN2, and the Disney Channel,
in the case of Disney). But cable networks focused on African American- and
Latino-themed programming also vocally opposed the amendment supporting
à la carte, fearing that their channels with more targeted audiences would perish
under such a scheme. In April 2004, Alfred Liggins, chairman of TV One, the
cable network targeting African American adults, wrote an op-ed in the Wash-
ington Times arguing against à la carte. A month later, Debra Lee of BET, Jeff Val-
dez of Sí TV, Kent Rice of the International Channel, Mike Hong at Imaginasian
TV, and Rudy Ibarra from Outstanding Latin Entertainment wrote letters to the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce stating that under à la carte their
networks would never have launched without the guaranteed access to viewers
needed to attract start-up capital. The Congressional Black Caucus also joined
these programmers in opposing à la carte (for a narrative of these early develop-
ments see http://www.publicintegrity.org/telecom/report.aspx?aid=395).

sí tV
Sí TV, an English-language cable/satellite channel focused on the diverse Latino cultures in
the United States, has been a vocal opponent of à la carte pricing. Founded as a production
company in 1997, producing programs such as The Brothers Garcia for Nickelodeon, Sí TV
launched as a network in February 2004 with financial backing from the satellite TV distribu-
tor EchoStar and cable operator Time Warner. Original series include LatiNation, a weekly
magazine about Latino culture in the United States; The Rub, a nightly show about sex, love,
and relationships; The Drop, a weekly music and variety show; Circumcised Cinema, a series
that reedits Mexican B movies; and Not-So-Foreign Filmmakers Showcase, about the mul-
ticultural independent film scene. Other series directly engage with political issues, such as
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, a mealtime discussion show on topics such as prisoner rights,
racial discrimination, and gay marriage; and Urban Jungle, a reality series that places privi-
leged suburban kids in South Central Los Angeles to live like immigrants.
In 2007 Sí TV and TV One, the African American–targeted network, created the Alliance for
Diversity in Programming to promote diverse television programming and oppose à la carte