Disney, NCTA Release Research Opposing A La Carte Cable

Disney and the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) released research yesterday stating that “both consumers and cable networks would suffer” from a la carte cable pricing, according to Steve Donohue of MULTICHANNEL NEWS. NCTA Senior VP/Law & Regulatory Policy Daniel Brenner said an FCC-commissioned report last month stating that a la carte would benefit consumers “really does miss its mark both on its analysis and its conclusion.” A report from Michigan State Univ. and The CapAnalysis Group commissioned by Disney and the NCTA stated that the FCC’s findings “overstate the number of a la carte channels consumers would be able to purchase and ‘ignores or mischaracterizes the economic testimony on the benefits of bundling’” (MULTICHANNEL.com, 3/15). ESPN/ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer: “The FCC report is fundamentally flawed. The overwhelming body of evidence clearly shows that consumers will pay more and get less with a la carte. Ripping up cable’s packaging is not pro-consumer, nor is losing the diversity model that has been built with today’s model” (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/16). Viacom said an incomplete study it has commissioned “will concur” with the position of Disney and the NCTA. FCC spokesperson Tamara Lipper said the FCC’s study “does not conclude that every consumer would pay less. But they’d have more choice by having the option to pay less.” CapAnalysis’ Jeffrey Eisenach said his firm’s study found “the price of ESPN would have to go to $20 (a month) for it to stay on the air.” But Gene Kimmelman of the Consumers Union said, “In Canada, you can buy a la carte as many channels as most Americans watch for about 20% less. In France, you can get ESPN for [$0.40] a month, so it’s hard for me to believe it would be $20 here” (USA TODAY, 3/16).