Cable Industry to Publicize Controls

Seeking to head off tougher government regulation of their industry, cable TV officials said Wednesday that they planned to launch a public service ad campaign telling parents how to use blocking features to shield children from inappropriate programs.

At a news conference, officials of the National Cable and Telecommunications Assn. estimated the value of the campaign at $250 million. In addition, starting June 1, cable operators such as Comcast Corp. plan to put up displays at TV retailers with information about the content controls. The operators also will increase the size of the icons showing program ratings and will display the icon more frequently, the trade group said.

“We want every parent in America to know about parental controls,” Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts said.

Anti-indecency groups criticized the moves as inadequate. The head of the Parents Television Council, a Los Angeles-based media watchdog group, called the campaign a sham and said cable operators should offer viewers more choice.

“The industry should provide the ability for consumers to pick and choose -- and to pay for -- only those cable networks that subscribers want, rather than forcing consumers to pay for channels they don’t want,” council President L. Brent Bozell said.

Indecency mushroomed into a public outcry after singer Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed on TV during the February 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

The Federal Communications Commission has since imposed a record amount of fines on radio and television broadcasters. And Capitol Hill lawmakers have joined the chairman of the FCC in pressing the cable and satellite industries to give consumers greater choice in selecting the programming that goes into their homes.

“The cable industry needs to do more to address parents’ legitimate concerns,” FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said in a statement. He urged cable operators to “offer a family tier or offer programming in a more a la carte manner.”

Some legislators have threatened to impose indecency standards on cable and satellite. In contrast to the broadcast industry, cable is not subject to indecency regulation because cable programs are distributed over private networks rather than public airwaves.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said he planned to introduce a bill that would require cable operators to offer programming for children.