PTC Urges FX Network to Move to Premium Tier

The PTC is calling for the FX Network to be moved to the premium cable tier, so that families do not have to subsidize shows containing graphically violent or sexual content. “For decades, cable and satellite subscribers have been attracted to the news, sports, movies and niche-programming that interests them. And for many years, subscribers who wanted explicit or pornographic content could also subscribe to a premium tier with HBO, Cinemax or Showtime. But now premium-tier porn and violence is part of the forced-bundle of basic cable. That needs to stop. And that’s why we’re calling on the FX Network to be moved from the basic tier to the premium tier, so that families can make the affirmative choice not to subsidize FX on their cable bills,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “The content on FX Network’s American Horror Story has reached a new depth of depravity in a recent episode where children are shown killing adults and then drinking the blood of their victims. Never before have I seen child actors engaged in such outrageous and gruesome onscreen behavior. Another recent scene on American Horror Story showed the use of a ‘drill-bit dildo.’ Newcomer The Bastard Executioner routinely revels in showing scenes of murder and mutilation. The FX program Archer includes explicit animated content that the show’s producer publicly refers to as porn. But cartoons are inherently attractive to children. “With each passing year, FX seems to outdo itself when it comes to pushing the most extreme content into the homes of every cable TV subscriber. Nearly all of its programs require a TV-MA rating, for mature audiences only. But the problem is that consumers and families are subsidizing the FX Network through their monthly cable bill. It may be less than a dollar per month per subscriber, but when FX collects that fee from every single cable customer, it adds up to almost a billion dollars every year. And that is before a single ad slot is sold to a sponsor. “FX sees HBO as its top competitor, according to comments made earlier this year by FX CEO John Landgraf. He’s right. And that’s why FX should be put onto that same tier as HBO, where subscribers can ‘opt in’ and pay an additional fee if they so choose. “Families are fed up with having to subsidize such explicit and harmful content. With this recent American Horror Story episode, we hope that the solution is clear to all: FX needs to move away from the basic cable lineup as quickly as possible.”