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Sen. McCain pushes new legislation to dismantle cable bundles

Published May 9th, 2013 10:40PM EDT
McCain Cable Bundling Legislation

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How much do consumers dislike cable providers’ bundling practices? So much that even Time Warner Cable’s CEO has started to publicly fret about a backlash. Republican Senator John McCain is determined to do something about overly expensive cable bundles, however, and AllThingsD reports that he’s pushing legislation that would “force pay TV operators to break up the programming bundles, by offering channels in smaller groups or on an individual basis.” While this sounds good at first, AllThingsD points out that it may not do much to lower consumers’ monthly bills since popular cable stations such as ESPN are subsidized by less popular stations. Thus, if cable providers are forced to offer channels individually then ESPN could charge around $20 a month for a standalone subscription.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.