PTC Lauds Maine Cable Choice Law, Condemns Cable Industry Legal Effort to Kill It

The Parents Television Council issued a statement of support for Maine’s law that requires consumers to have the ability to choose and pay for only the cable networks they want. Comcast, Disney and other cable industry behemoths have filed suit against the state in an effort to kill the law. A federal judge is considering putting a temporary hold on the law from being enforced in light of the lawsuit.“By passing the nation’s first law mandating Cable Choice, legislators in Maine deserve praise for boldly standing up for the interests of consumers, and for standing up against the financial interests of Big Cable. Having lost the fight in the court of public opinion, the cable industry is now turning to the federal courts to protect their bundling scheme. We hope the court sees through the cable industry’s flimsy arguments and puts Maine consumers first,” said PTC President Tim Winter.“Big Cable’s legal arguments to preserve their TV bundle completely contradict the very essence of today’s streaming video business. Every cable company plaintiff has created its own streaming video service, and each service must find a way to compete in the crowded streaming video marketplace in order to survive. Yet when it comes to cable TV, their argument is that subscribers must pay for bundles with a hundred or more different networks. They say unbundling would limit choices and lead to higher prices. How can they suggest such a thing when they’ve already proven that unbundled streaming services provide consumers with virtually unlimited choices, and at prices that market forces keep affordable? The industry’s hypocrisy is astounding.“The Maine law may not be perfect, but its public policy objectives are pure. We call on state and federal authorities across the nation to adopt similar legislative remedies for cable and satellite consumers.”