FCC puts 'a la carte' on the menu

0 Comments | USA TODAY, September, 2007 | by Leslie Cauley

If you're tired of paying for dozens of cable TV channels that you don't want and don't watch, relief may be on the way.

The Federal Communications Commission today plans to begin considering banning programmers from "tying" -- making cable systems take less-popular or new channels to get must-haves, such as ESPN or CBS.

Programmers have used the practice to launch scores of channels. That's why you see all those spinoffs of Walt Disney's ESPN on basic and digital cable. Operators didn't necessarily want them -- they just couldn't see a cheaper way to get the flagship channel.

Each extra channel adds a fee to customers' bills. "The problem for consumers is that they have to pay higher rates for a bunch of channels they may not want or watch," says...