Family tiering gets technical: cable wrestles with analog versus digital, decency definition.(Time Warner Inc.)

Broadcasting & Cable, December, 2005 by Dickson, Glen

Time Warner Cable became the first operator to unveil a family-tier plan, following National Cable & Telecommunications Association President Kyle McSlarrow's pledge in a Senate hearing that six operators will launch tiers of kid-friendly fare. But the digital "Family Choice" package may sound more like "no choice" to parents, who are limited to viewing only that package and the basic broadcast tier.

While Time Warner's family-tier subscribers--paying $12.99 a month for 15 channels, on top of $7.95 monthly for a digital set-top box, as well as their basic-service fee--would receive channels like Disney Channel and Discovery Kids, they're not given the option of getting such channels as HBO and ESPN. That's because Time Warner will be installing...

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