TV 'Consumer Freedom Act' Introduced

Calling the business practices of the television industry an "injustice being inflicted on the American people," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced legislation Thursday he said will give consumers more choice and control over their pay-TV services.

The LATimes reports McCain as saying his Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013 will "help shift the landscape to benefit television consumers."

Long a foe of how pay-TV distributors such as satellite and cable companies and programmers package and sell programming, McCain wants the industry to start selling channels on an individual or a la carte basis to consumers. That way, a customer who doesn't love sports isn't stuck footing the high bill ESPN charges.

"Whether you watch ESPN or not, and admittedly I do all the time, all cable subscribers are forced to absorb this cost," McCain said on the Senate floor. "Today we are putting up a stop sign."

McCain criticized not only distributors but also programmers for so-called bundling. That is when a large company such as ESPN parent Walt Disney Co. or MTV parent Viacom rolls all of its channels together in one bundle to sell to distributors.

While a distributor can still opt to buy individual channels from a programmer, the bundle typically includes a discount for strong channels in return for carrying less popular networks.

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