The Parents Television Council

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The Parents Television Council (PTC) says it has new evidence that reinforces its call for "a la carte" cable programming -- an "industry scheme" to force "raunchy" programming on families. "What we now have," says PTC president L. Brent Bozell, "is a full-fledged programming conveyor belt taking sexually graphic and violent shows from premium cable to basic cable, and some from basic cable to broadcast." Bozell is referring to networks moving such shows as The Shield, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and Sex and the City to venues that make them more accessible during the "family hour" to basic cable subscribers -- and in the case of the latter, even to non-cable subscribers. "The industry ... is shoving premium and basic cable programming that parents and families do not want in their faces," the PTC president asserts. According to Bozell, many shows with anti-family content are now airing on broadcast television prior to 10:00 p.m. -- and that, he says, "blows a hole" in the industry's defense that parents should not be concerned about such programs because they are being broadcast at times when children are not likely to be watching. "These are clear examples of why we need cable choice -- the ability for families to choose and pay for only the cable channels they want," says Bozell. The PTC contends that it is "terribly and fundamentally wrong" to require consumers to pay for a product they do not want in order to get something they do want.