WaveXpress' "filtering" patent?!
DirecTV latest to unveil family package -- is this "weeding out programming" the same as the "filtering" terminology referenced in WaveXpress' patent?
Wed Jan 18, 2006 05:47 PM ET
(Adds EchoStar plans in 9th paragraph)
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the biggest U.S. satellite television provider, on Wednesday became the latest to say it will offer a package of channels aimed at weeding out programming that might be inappropriate for children.
The biggest cable companies, including Comcast Corp. (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , have announced packages designed to please families, lawmakers and regulators who are worried about sexual and profane material on television.
DirecTV's package will include more than 40 channels, including Viacom Inc.'s (VIA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Nickelodeon, Time Warner's CNN Headline News, The Weather Channel, and National Religious Broadcast Network, among others.
The package, to be available in mid-April, will cost $34.99 a month and include local broadcast channels, according to the company.
"We have answered the call from concerned parents and policymakers and have designed a programming package to meet the needs of DirecTV families," Dan Fawcett, executive vice president for programming at DirecTV, said in a statement.
The company had 14.93 million subscribers as of the end of the third quarter last year.
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday plans to hold a hearing at which it will receive an update from the television industry on its efforts to assuage concerns about racy programming.
Executives from EchoStar, CBS Corp. (CBSa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Comcast are expected to testify along with Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, which has fought what it considers to be indecent content on television.
DirecTV satellite rival EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , which had 11.7 million customers at the end of the third quarter, plans to unveil its family package at the hearing, according to company spokesman Marc Lumpkin.
Bozell and consumer group Consumers Union said the offerings by the industry were not enough and they would continue to press for consumers to be able to pick and choose the channels they want, known as "a la carte" service.
Some cable companies and programmers have countered that such a system would cost more and derail niche channels that could attract casual viewers.
Instead, the providers have developed family-oriented packages as an alternative way to address indecency concerns.
"These are ideas that have been designed to fail; they will fail so the industry can say there's no demand for family programming," Bozell told reporters. "If you're going to have family tiers, families ought to be allowed to decide those tiers, not the cable industry."
He also called on the Senate to pass legislation which has languished since early 2005 to increase fines on television and radio broadcasters that violate rules limiting indecent content to late night hours when children are less likely to be listening.
The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill to raise indecency fines to as much as $500,000 from the current $32,500.
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