4 Things John McCain's Cable Bill Would Mean for Subscribers

[FORD]

4 Things John McCain's Cable Bill Would Mean for Subscribers

By Brent Lang | The Wrap – Fri, May 10, 2013 9:05 AM PDT
(http://tv.yahoo.com/news/4-things-john-mccains-cable-bill-mean-subscribers-145722767.html;_ylt=AsqmWy8gTUIvo3J56YHlV2kMpNEF;_ ylu=X3oDMTVhNnJmZXJpBGNjb2RlA2N0LmMEbWl0A1A1MDAgTW 9zdCBQb3B1bGFyIFN0b3JpZXMgTGlzdARwa2cDZDQ1MTQyZmMt M2EzMS0zNzBhLTlhOGQtZmQ1MTI1NWM3NWRkBHBvcwMyBHNlYw NNZWRpYUJMaXN0TWl4ZWRNb3N0UG9wdWxhckNBVGVtcAR2ZXID N2MxMDBjNTEtYjk4ZC0xMWUyLWJlZjctMDMzYzMxMWFiNzU1;_ ylg=X3oDMTJxbXI0NzkwBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3 RhaWQDNWJjYjFiMzktNDRkOC0zNTlmLTljNzYtOTYyMDQzNWE0 MzI5BHBzdGNhdANwaG90b3MEcHQDc3MtZ2FsbGVyeQ--;_ylv=3#)


Sen. John McCain will fundamentally change television if his latest legislation succeeds: It would allow consumers to pay for only the channels they want to watch, instead of being forced to plunk down lots of cash for a full cable package of negligible offerings.

The Arizona Republican's bill faces lots of hurdles and will likely be subjected to fierce opposition from the cable industry, so passage is far from assured. Cable companies like the current system, because it allows them to force subscribers to pay for less popular channels if they want to keep watching ESPN.

Cable networks want to keep the status quo in place so they can continue bundling their top channels like AMC or MTV with their less desirable ones.

Before the mudslinging gets fierce, here's a look at four things that the legislation, dubbed the Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013, would accomplish -- besides potentially taking a big chunk out of Comcast's profits.

1. Let You Stop Paying for the Hallmark Channel

...or Ovation or WE TV or VH1 or Lifetime or OWN or, depending on your political leanings, MSNBC or Fox News. The list goes on and on.

Buying channels on an a la carte basis would let users select only those channels that carry programming they actually want -- primarily sports, "Walking Dead" and "Duck Dynasty."

There are downsides, including creative ones. The television renaissance taking place around us is viable in part because media companies are making so much money from a fractured landscape. The 3 million viewers who tune in each week "Mad Men"s' meticulously crafted depiction of the 1960s may have to get used to more bargain-barrel production values when AMC's parent company is forced to sell its channels individually. After all, the money the company earns from bundling WE TV and Sundance helps make Don Draper's lifestyle possible.

2. Keep Broadcasters from Migrating to Cable

Broadcasters are threatening to abandon the public airwaves and pull up stakes for cable. The cause of their sudden migratory fever is Aereo. The internet streams over-the-air television from the likes of CBS and ABC for a low monthly price, prompting a heated legal challenge.

McCain's bill will strip networks of their broadcast licenses if they move their entire businesses -- or even major live events like the Super Bowl -- to cable.

3. Maybe, Just Maybe, Lower Your Cable Bills

If McCain's legislation gets enacted, it could save users a nice chunk of change by arresting the alarming increases in monthly cable bills. Right now, customers pay an average of $86 a month, but if cable companies continue to raise prices at a rate of 6 percent a year, the cost could skyrocket to beyond $200 a month by 2020, according to the consumer market researcher NPD Group.

A pay-as-you-go model for cable could help subscribers from having to choose between junior's college tuition and "Storage Wars."

4. Make TV Personality John McCain Cool Again

After a divisive presidential campaign and a veer into "complete the danged fence" territory, McCain lost his iconoclastic stripes in recent years. He's remained an ornery regular at the "Meet the Press" table, harping on President Obama's deficiencies, while maintaining a frosty relationship with the media elites he once joked were his base. He's just seemed so angry.

But taking on the cable industry seems to have unlocked McCain's happy warrior side.

While introducing the legislation on the Senate floor, McCain had a message for the industry that should bring Democrats and Republicans together.

"Today we are putting up a stop sign," he declared.

Expect press coverage so glowing it could even melt the hostility between McCain and "The Daily Show"s' Jon Stewart. The maverick is back.

[FORD]

It's hard to forgive McCain for bringing Moosealini upon all of us, or for hanging around with Holy Joe and Miss Lindsey in the annoying way he does.

But this sounds like something the "old" McCain, the guy who wrote campaign finance legislation with Russ Feingold, would have done.

Maybe that guy woke up when Ann the Man threatened to kill his daughter?

[twonabomber]

I dunno. It's been almost a month since I canceled DirecTV, and I don't miss it.

They've called twice a day since the shutoff date...the one time I bothered to answer I deflected their sales pitch and told them that I wouldn't be interested in pay TV again until I could buy only the channels I want, and I want to own my equipment and not lease it. Of course they said they can't do that, I said quit bothering me, and they cuntinue to call.

Not sure if McCain's bill includes the dish companies, but even if it doesn't they'd have to change to be competitive with cable.

Another option would be to buy the channels produced by one company, FOX or Viacom for example. I would skip the Viacom package...MTV and VH1 suck, and if Spike is going to run Star Wars (which EVERYONE has seen eleventybillion times) and the remake of Walking Tall three times a week and 1,000 Ways To Die the rest of the time then I have no use for them, either.

[FORD]

I wouldn't want to see them packaged by ownership. I don't want to have to pay for FAUX Noize just to be able to watch "Justified" on FX, for example. Or have to pay for the Bravo channel - which I don't think I ever watched, even when I had cable- in order to have access to the USA channel, which is probably the only channel producing anything worth watching during the summer months. Of course both of those channels are owned by NBC/Universal, which means if you're a Comca$t subscriber, you're already paying that corporation no matter what TV package you buy

All of these channels are advertiser supported anyway (except for the HBO/Showtime/Skinemax type) so it's not like the cable & dish companies wouldn't make a profit if they allowed customers to choose only the channels they wanted, and paid something like $1/month per channel. At that rate, the people who actually LIKE the shopping channels and the Jesus channels would probably still pay for them, but the rest of us wouldn't have to.

[BITEYOASS]

Well holy fuck! McCain is a fuckin' genious! I for one can't wait to send the Kardashians and Honey-Boo-Boo down the shitter. :cheer:

[Nickdfresh]

This would be awesome, you know? Like actually "letting the market decide?"

[sadaist]

I see good and bad here.


I don't like having all those channels, but when something pops up like Breaking Bad did and everyone was telling me I needed to see it, it sure was nice that I could find that channel on my dial.

Also you never know what little gem you might find out there on those bored days when you are channel surfing.

But the cable companies are raping us blind and it must stop. I had Time Warner for TV and Internet and they took so much dang money from me. Now I just have Internet through Verizon and am using Hulu to watch a few select shows. Although I do miss normal television now & then.

[twonabomber]

I don't like having all those channels, but when something pops up like Breaking Bad did and everyone was telling me I needed to see it, it sure was nice that I could find that channel on my dial.


Once the Sopranos and Entourage ended, I told myself that I was done getting hooked on something I'd have to keep up with every week. That lasted until SOA started, and I still watch Survivor. So when SOA comes back for the new season I will either buy the episodes for $3 from the Playstation Store or I will find them elsewhere.

I've watched a few things on Amazon, the quality is pretty good. I don't like the fifty emails asking me to review the show, but those are easily deleted.

I have traditionally had music on more than the TV, been trying to get back to that.

[Sensible Shoes]

I pretty much keep USA on all damned day to watch NCIS reruns - since there is NOTHING on during the day anywhere else. At night, we have a routine that usually includes NCIS, (CBS) Once Upon a Time (ABC), Grimm (NBC) Dancing w the stars (ABC) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) Revolution (NBC) Burn Notice (USA) Suits (USA) and Royal Pains (USA). Once in a blue moon, like when WWE is on, I flip over to other stations and have caught Honey Boo Boo, Pawn Shop wars or whatever, Say yes to the dress, The kardashian piece of shit, Salvage Wars, Dance Moms and various stuff on the history channel. All the "Blue moon" shit could go away and I could care less. So yes, Mr. McCain, push away. This would be good.

[BITEYOASS]

I see good and bad here.


I don't like having all those channels, but when something pops up like Breaking Bad did and everyone was telling me I needed to see it, it sure was nice that I could find that channel on my dial.

Also you never know what little gem you might find out there on those bored days when you are channel surfing.

But the cable companies are raping us blind and it must stop. I had Time Warner for TV and Internet and they took so much dang money from me. Now I just have Internet through Verizon and am using Hulu to watch a few select shows. Although I do miss normal television now & then.

I just avoid channels that have a well documented history of producing utter-bullshit. TLC, The Hitler...I mean History channel, CNN, Headline News, Fox News, MSNBC, VH-1, MTV, Discovery, National Geographic, Lifetime....I could go on and on.

[BITEYOASS]

It would be great if I never have the opportunity to see that cunt Nancy Grace ever again.

[Sensible Shoes]

I pretty much keep USA on all damned day to watch NCIS reruns - since there is NOTHING on during the day anywhere else. At night, we have a routine that usually includes NCIS, (CBS) Once Upon a Time (ABC), Grimm (NBC) Dancing w the stars (ABC) Grey's Anatomy (ABC) Revolution (NBC) Burn Notice (USA) Suits (USA) and Royal Pains (USA). Once in a blue moon, like when WWE is on, I flip over to other stations and have caught Honey Boo Boo, Pawn Shop wars or whatever, Say yes to the dress, The kardashian piece of shit, Salvage Wars, Dance Moms and various stuff on the history channel. All the "Blue moon" shit could go away and I could care less. So yes, Mr. McCain, push away. This would be good.

Oh yes the Amish reality show. WOW is that fucked up.