Senator John McCain has introduced a bill that could fix one of the most annoying problems with cable TV - getting stuck with channels we will likely never watch. The senator from Arizona introduced a bill called the Television Consumer Freedom Act, which would allow pay-TV subscribers to pick channels a la carte and could protect upstart Aereo.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, McCain said Thursday that the current system is “unfair and wrong,” with customers having to pay huge monthly bills because of licensing fees. He cited the high prices subscribers pay to get networks like ESPN, calling it a “tax on every household.” The bundling system that rules pay-TV is “an injustice being inflicted on the American people,” McCain said.
“For over 15 years I have supported giving consumers the ability to buy cable channels individually, also known as ‘a la carte’ – to provide consumers more control over viewing options in their home and, as a result, their monthly cable bill,” McCain said.
Mashable notes that McCain also addressed an issue that sports fans have complained about before - the blackout rules. These rules make it impossible for sports fans to watch their favorite NFL team in their home market if the home game isn’t sold out. McCain’s proposal would make it so that all games played in publicly-funded stadiums would have to air on TV.
McCain also tried to solve an even bigger issue - Aereo. The online subscription service allows users to pick watch live TV online by using the over-the-air broadcasts and subscribers pay dirt-cheap prices. The networks have threatened to go off-air if the company is allowed to continue without paying licensing fees. McCain’s bill would penalize the broadcast networks by stripping them of their licenses if they go
pay-TV exclusive.
“It would be a distortion of this basic social compact if over-the-air viewers were treated as second-class citizens,” McCain said Thursday. “This bill provides a legislative response if broadcasters either downgrade their signal or pull it altogether.”
You can read McCain’s bill here.
iamge: aereo.com