Cable
Sen. John McCain has introduced the Television Consumer
Freedom Act, a bill that would allow us to pay for cable channels
individually, giving us more control over what we choose to buy
and watch.
Forced bundling is a symptom of our dysfunctional,
competition-free cable system in which content providers (ESPN,
Fox News, HBO) collude with cable companies (Comcast, Time Warner
Cable) to push us into paying for hundreds of channels we don't
want — and to keep our cable and broadband bills climbing higher
and higher.
Although Sen. McCain's bill doesn't outlaw bundling, it
would provide incentives for cable companies to "unbundle" their
cable packages — and offer an "a la carte" option in which
consumers would pay only for the channels they want.
Tell Your Senators to
Support the Television Consumer Freedom Act.
Sign here:
http://act.freepress.net/sign/cable_tv_consumer_freedom_act/
and please forward to your lists.
Comcast
Here's what FreePress has to say about
Comcast:
Right now in the halls of Congress,
Comcast lobbyists are schmoozing with lawmakers and arguing for the
company’s takeover of NBC.... no. It's Time Warner now.
But this merger doesn't add up: One
of the worst companies in the country, plus one of the world's
biggest producers of TV shows and motion pictures, equals higher
prices and fewer choices for people like you.
- Obscene profits. Comcast is already raking it
in. The company made $3 billion in profits in 2009.
- Overpaid CEO. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is one
of America's most overpaid CEOs, taking home more than $40 million
in compensation last year.
- Bad behavior. Comcast has a long history of
blocking union organizing, blocking Web traffic, and even blocking
the public from hearings held to investigate its own Internet
blocking.
- Tons of lobbying. In the first nine months of
2009, Comcast spent a whopping $13.4 million on 98 lobbyists in
Washington.
We've been up and down Capitol Hill,
warning Congress that if they don't stop this deal, they'll be
handing over more of our media to one big, bad company.
But Comcast's huge army of lobbyists
is swarming the Beltway, and we're way outnumbered. That's where
you come in.
Help
Us Reach Every Lawmaker in D.C.: Write Yours Now
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