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CU endorses a la carte television legislation

This legislation would allow consumers to purchase cable channels individually

Consumers Union Endorses A La Carte Television Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC – Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports, announced its support of Senator John McCain’s Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013. The endorsement comes as Senator McCain is testifying today about his legislation that would allow consumers to purchase cable channels individually at a Senate Commerce hearing on “The State of Video”.

Delara Derakhshani, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said, “The average cable TV bill for expanded basic service has gone up 6.1 percent a year, every year, from 1995 through 2011. These days, cable customers have to buy larger and larger packages of channels just to get the handful of channels they want. You shouldn’t have to pay for dozens of channels you don’t watch. We have long argued that ‘cable a la carte’ would be a big boost for consumer choice. We support Senator McCain’s bill because it would create incentives for cable companies to offer consumers more choice over what they pay to watch.”

The Commerce Committee hearing is currently underway. For more information, visit www.commerce.senate.gov.

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