TV Eye

Last week, I launched a riff on "fascinating" TV-related events of 2005. Here's where I left off.

This year, there was a lot of talk about indecency on TV. The broadcast networks had a "no fair" response to criticism, pointing to cable TV, the content of which is typically racier and doesn't have the same restrictions as the broadcast networks. Family values advocates took up the cause, demanding more "family programming," whatever that is. There seems to be some confusion as to what that is and, more importantly, who will define it.

The issue has gained so much momentum that Senate hearings on the subject were held. One early solution was to move to an a la carte method of purchasing cable TV. This way, consumers could pick and choose which channels they wanted to subscribe to (as with premium cable channels). Under former chairman Michael Powell, the FCC said no, saying it would be too costly for consumers. But earlier this month, current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin declared the a la carte approach desirable, in the consumers' best interests, and "an ideal antidote to TV's rising indecency," according to a report on the latest Senate hearing in Broadcasting & Cable by John M. Higgins and P.J. Bednarski. Cable companies and operators are not happy. And besides, isn't that what the V-Chip is for? Yes, but few parents use it. Why? Because it's rarely marketed to consumers as a useful feature of their TV by TV manufacturers. If you notice, it's often networks (like Fox) that champion the service.

In what looks like a high-profile response to family friendly advocates and to stay the move toward cable a la carte, Time Warner Cable announced the launch of a new Family Choice Tier last week. The new tier appears in early 2006.

"The new digital tier will include 15 family-friendly channels, and can be ordered by any customer who gets the minimum basic service tier," according to a press release issued by Austin's Time Warner Cable office last week. "This tier of service complements the 15-20 channels available on the basic service tier, which federal law requires be available to all customers. The basic service tier includes local broadcast stations, public/educational and government access channels mandated by local cable franchise authorities and other select channels."

The 15 channels on the Family Choice Tier include: Boomerang, C-SPAN 2, C-SPAN 3, CNN Headline News, the Science Channel, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, DIY Network, FIT-TV, Food Network, HGTV, La Familia, Nick Games & Sports, the Weather Channel, and Toon Disney.

The Family Choice Tier will cost you $12.99 in addition to what you pay for basic service.

Case closed? Oh, I think it's just getting started. Labeling something "family friendly" isn't a cure all, particularly when it comes to content itself. Look at what happened with Postcards From Buster earlier this year. One oblique reference to a unconventional family (two moms) sent conservative "family" advocates screaming for more government control of the airwaves. However, do Americans really want the government to decide what's appropriate for them and their families to watch? I don't think so.

Another fascinating issue of the year is an old one: the ongoing quest for the brown dollar (i.e., the Latino market). Now, this one perplexes me on a number of levels. First, there was the push for diversity. Latinos, just like everyone else, want to see their stories being told. There's been some improvement in that area. What is off-kilter are the ways Latino audiences are measured and, in turn, how they are marketed to. Why is it so difficult to understand that not all Latinos are Spanish-speaking – some Latinos speak English only – and that "the vast majority of Latinos are U.S. born (60%) but only make up a small percentage of Spanish TV's audience," according to a Tomás Rivera Policy Institute report, prepared with the Pew Hispanic Center from the latest U.S. Census. Because of this, AIM TV, which produces programming for U.S.-born Latinos, is challenging Nielsen Media Research (the TV ratings outfit) to upgrade its methodology, which AIM TV contends "skews towards foreign-born Hispanics who prefer Spanish language television." No, this one is just getting started.

I could go on and on, but this is it for me for this year.

As always, stay tuned.