A La Carte: Making You Pay More for Less

Most academic and government studies conclude that forcing cable operators to sell each channel of programming separately (a la carte) would be more expensive for consumers and result in less diversity in programming.

A la carte would result in consumers paying more for fewer channels of cable programming.  Under an a la carte regime, consumers would receive far fewer channels for the same price they pay today to receive a broad array of channels on the basic and enhanced basic tiers.

Because a la carte would reduce advertising revenues (which are based on the number of prospective viewers) and increase marketing costs for many program networks, cable networks would have no choice but to significantly increase subscriber fees and/or reduce the quality and quantity of their programming.  Some program networks, especially those targeting niche audiences, would not survive.

For these reasons, the FCC’s First Report on a la carte (2004) found that mandatory a la carte would be likely to make most consumers worse off.

Even the FCC’s Further Report (2006) -- which is cited by some as supporting a la carte -- determines that customers who already have digital boxes could receive 20 channels for about the same price that they pay today for up to 150 channels.  In other words, under a la carte, you could only purchase one or two eggs for the price of a dozen – not a great bargain for consumers.

By undermining the economic viability of new networks, niche programming, and existing networks that appeal to minority audiences, a la carte would reduce programming diversity

A la carte would result in new equipment costs for many consumers, because purchasing channels in this way requires customers to have an addressable set-top box or a digital television set.  People subscribing to an analog-only tier – currently 40 percent of all U.S. cable customers – would no longer be able to plug their cable directly into a TV set and view their programming: they would have to buy or rent new equipment to view a la carte channels.

A la carte would fundamentally limit the way that people enjoy television.

The benefit of cable is to provide consumers with a broad array of viewing options in a readily accessible fashion.  These options accommodate a variety of tastes by different members of a household as well as changes in people’s tastes.

A la carte would destroy that model, forcing viewers to lock in their programming choices in advance, and depriving them of the ability to easily explore new shows and networks.

Civil Rights Groups:
NAACP, Hilary Shelton, Dir., Washington Bureau
NALEO, Arturo Vargas, Executive Director
LULAC, Gabriella Lemus, Dir., Policy & Legislation
Arab American Institute, James Zogby, Founder and President
National Council of Negro Women, Dorothy Height, Chair/President Emerita
National Urban League, Marc H. Morial, President and CEO
Rainbow Push Coalition, Rev. Willie Barrow, Chairperson Emeritus
Nat. Asian Pacific Am. Legal Consortium, Karen Narasaki, Pres. and Exec
            Director
National Congress of Black Women, Dr. C. DeLores Tucker, National Chair
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Wade Henderson, Executive Director
National Conference of Democratic Mayors, Mayor Douglas Palmer, Trenton, NJ
National Conference of Black Mayors, Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jackson, MS
National Black Chamber of Commerce, Harry Alford, President and CEO
William C. Velasquez Institute, Antonio Gonzalez, President
Hispanic Federation, Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, President
National Hispanic Policy Institute, Efrain Gonzalez Jr, NY State Senate
Cuban American National Council, Guarione Diaz, Chairman
Indian American Civic Forum, Nagender Racharla, President
Chicago Southside Branch, NAACP, Rev. James L. Demus III, Exec. Director
National Black MBA Association, Alvin Brown, Chairman
Protestants for the Common Good, Rev. Dr. William H. Samuels
Wayman AME Church, Rev. Dr. Walter B. Johnson, Jr
LCLAA, Milton Rosado, National President
Community Assoc. of Progressive Dominicans, Victor Morisete-Romero
Alianza Dominicana, Moises Perez, Executive Director
Minority Media & Telecom Council, David Honig, Executive Director
South Asian Women’s Leadership Forum
African American Women in Cinema

Conservative Groups:
CATO Institute, Adam Thierer, Dir. of Telecom. Studies
Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, President
Club for Growth, Stephen Moore, President
Citizens for a Sound Economy, Matt Kibbe, President
American Conservative Union, David Keene, Chairman
National Taxpayers Union, Paul Gessing, Dir. of Government Affairs
Media Freedom Project, Tom Readmond, Executive Director
Small Business Survival Committee, Karen Kerrigan, Chairperson
Independent Women's Forum, Nancy Pfotenhauer, President
Frontiers of Freedom, Kerri Houston, Vice President of Policy
Cap Analysis, Jim Miller, Chairman
Cap Analysis, Jeff Eisenach, Executive Vice Chairman
Progress and Freedom Foundation, Thomas Lenard and Randy May

Religious Groups:
Old Time Gospel Hour, Dr. Jerry Falwell, President
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Dr. Pat Robertson, Founder and Chairman
The Christian Broadcasting Network, Dr. Michael Little, President
FamilyNet TV, Dr. Robert Sutton, President
Trinity Broadcasting Network, Dr. Paul Crouch, President
TriState Christian TV, Inc., Dr. Garth Coonce, President
American Center for Law and Justice, Inc., Jay A. Sekulow, Chief Counsel
American Center for Law and Justice, Inc., Colby M. May, Esq., Director,
      Washington Office
Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), Howard Barr
LeSEA Broadcasting Corp. and Christian Television Network Inc.
Carolina Christian Broadcasting, Inc., Dr. James Tompson, President
The Awakening Hour, Dr. William R. Crews, Host
Christian Faith Broadcasting, Rusty Yost, Vice President

Women’s Groups:
National Organization for Women
The Women’s Alliance
National Partnership for Women and Families
Planned Parenthood
Women in Cable and Telecommunications
Global Fund for Women
Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
Step Up Women’s Network
Women of Value in Every Nation
Legal Momentum
New York Women in Film and Television
The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York
American Women in Radio and Television
Ms. Foundation for Women

Local Elected Officials:
Mayor of Trenton (NJ), Douglas Palmer, Pres., National Conference of Democratic Mayors
Mayor, City of Jackson (MS), Harvey Johnson, Pres., National Conference of Black Mayors
Mayor of Stamford (CT), Dannel P. Malloy
Mayor of Hartford (CT), Eddie Perez
Mayor, City of Inglewood (CA), Roosevelt Dorn
Mayor, City of St. Gabriel (LA), George L. Grace, Sr.
Mayor, Village of Robbins (IL), Irene Brodie
Mayor, Town of Richwood (LA), Edward Harris
Mayor, Town of Winstonville (MS), Milton Tutwiler
Mayor, City of Milledgeville (GA), Floyd L. Griffin, Jr.
Mayor of Eastover (SC), Christopher Campbell, South Carolina Conference of Black Mayors
Mayor, Town of Arcadia (OK), Marilyn Murrell
Mayor, City of Ames (TX), John White
Mayor, Riviera Beach (FL), Michael D. Brown
Mayor, Town of White Castle (LA), Maurice A. Brown, Pres., Louisiana Chapter, National Conference of Black Mayors
Comptroller, State of Connecticut, Nancy Wyman
Mexican American Legislative Caucus, Texas House of Representatives, Pete P. Gallego
Illinois State Senator, Iris Martinez
New York State Senator, Carl Andrews
New York State Senator, Kevin Parker
New York State Senator, Malcolm A. Smith
Arizona State Representative, Steve Gallardo, Hispanic Caucus Chair
Florida State Representative, Robert Henriquez, Hispanic Caucus Chair
New York State Assemblyman, Daryl Towns
New York State Assemblyman, Scott Stringer
New York State Assemblywoman, Vivian Cook
New York State Assemblywoman, Aurelia Greene
New York State Assemblyman, Michael Benjamin
New York State Assemblyman, Carl Heastie
New York State Assemblyman, Peter Rivera
New York State Assemblyman, Adriano Espaillat, Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic Legislative Caucus
New York State Assemblyman, Jose Peralta
New York State Assemblyman, Ruben Diaz Jr
New York State Assemblyman, Luis Diaz
New York City Councilman, Leroy Comrie
New York City Councilman, Charles Barron
New York City Councilwomen, Tracy Boyland
New York City Councilman, Jose M. Serrano
New York City Councilman, Hiram Monserrate
New York City Councilwoman, Maria Baez
New York City Councilwomen, Margarita Lopez
New York City Councilman, Lewis Fidler
New York City Councilwomen, Melinda Katz
Former NY City Council Member, Guillermo Linares
New York Borough President, Adolfo Carrion

Programmers:

A&E Television Networks
Africa Channel
Allbritton Communications (NewsChannel 8)
Altitude Sports & Entertainment
AZN Television
BET Networks
Bloomberg Television
C-SPAN Networks
Caballero Television
Comcast SportsNets
Court TV (now truTV)
Crown Media/Hallmark Networks
Discovery Communications
E! Entertainment Networks
Fox Cable Networks
Fox Sports Networks
G4-Videogame Television
GSN – The Network for Games
Golf Channel
Goodlife TV Network (now AmericanLife TV)
ImaginAsian TV
Inspiration Networks
International Cable Channels (now International Networks) 
LAtv Holdings
Lifetime Entertainment Services
NBC Universal
Outdoor Life Network (now Versus)
Outstanding Latin Entertainment, Corp.
Ovation TV
Oxygen Media
PBS Kids Sprout
Scripps Networks
Sí TV
Starz Entertainment
Tennis Channel
Walt Disney Company
Weather Channel Networks
Travel Channel
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
TV Guide Channel
TV One
Univisión
Viacom
Zone Vision Enterprise  (now Chello Zone Networks)

Other Entities:
NCAA
Major League Baseball
National Hockey League
National Football League
Motion Picture Association of America
Anil-Ki-Awaaz
National Association of Public Affairs Networks
Time Warner Cable
Comcast Corporation
Charter Communications
The DIRECT TV Group
National Cable & Telecommunications Association

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