Backchannelmedia

Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

By Bloomberg News

Consumers may benefit if allowed to buy cable-television channels individually rather than in packages, a U.S. Federal Communications Commission study has found.

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said the study of so-called "a la carte" pricing comes to different conclusions than similar research commissioned last year by predecessor Michael Powell.

Individual sales of channels "could be economically feasible and in consumers' best interests," Martin told a discussion panel on broadcast indecency sponsored by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee in Washington. A commission study ordered by Powell found the opposite, he said.

The latest study could give ammunition to advocates of a la carte pricing as they urge Congress to consider legislation. Interest groups such as the Parents Television Council, a family advocacy group, and the Consumers Union, which represents some consumers, tried unsuccessfully last year to get lawmakers to draft an a la carte bill.

Martin, a Republican who became chairman last March, said he doesn't plan to push the industry to adopt such pricing or urge Congress to consider legislation mandating the method. He said he views it one of several options, the most preferable of which is for the cable industry to voluntarily offer a package of family- friendly programs.

An analyst said the FCC study would have little impact.

"While the testimony will likely garner headlines, we don't believe it will significantly increase the risk that the government will require cable operators to offer a la carte programming," said Legg Mason analyst Blair Levin.

Advocates of a la carte marketing have said individual channel sales would lower consumers' costs by not forcing them to pay for programs they don't want. Family groups also say consumers wouldn't have to subscribe to channels with indecent content to get access to programs they like.

Cable TV companies have said less-popular channels survive because are sold in packages with more-popular ones. A la carte marketing may result in fewer consumer choices, they said, because some channels may not survive.

"You would not just be violating the First Amendment, but be hurting the very customers you're trying to help," said Kyle McSlarrow, president of the National Cable Television Association, which represents cable operators including Comcast Corp., the world's largest, and No. 2 Time Warner Inc.

The FCC study found prices for less popular channels might go down if they were sold individually, said FCC Chief Economist Leslie Marx, who helped oversee the study.

Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, said he would use the FCC study to try to persuade Congress to draft a la carte legislation.

"Cable's walls keep crashing down, and the wall that a la carte would raise prices is the latest to crash," he said.