TW Introduces Family Tier... at $1 a Channel

[dampier]

People asked for a family tier, and now they'll have it. TW has announced it will roll out a family tier of channels requiring customers to rent digital converter boxes. The programming lineup is not exactly compelling. Here is the nationally announced tier structure for TW:

Basic Tier
Includes: Local broadcast stations, public/educational and government access channels mandated by local cable franchise authorities and other select channels
Price: $12 Number of channels: 15-20 Price per channel: 60 to 80 cents

Family Choice Tier
Includes: Boomerang, C-SPAN 2, C-SPAN 3, CNN Headline News, The Science Channel, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, DIY Network, FIT-TV, Food Network, HGTV, La Familia, Nick Games & Sports, The Weather Channel and Toon Disney
Price: $12.99 Number of channels: 15 Price per channel: 87 cents
Set-top box required: Digital Added cost: $7.99

Expanded Basic Tier
Includes: National and regional cable networks, superstations, local news channels.
Price: $41.00 Number of channels: 70 to 80 Price per channel: 51 cents to 58 cents


TW decided it would not include CNN, Fox or MSNBC news channels on the family tier because it felt CNN programming could be too graphic, and Fox and MSNBC contain too many programs that consist of shouting which would not be suitable for children (thus wiping out the entire Fox evening lineup) or contains adult themes (read that: crime and scandal shows which kills MSNBC and Greta.)

It also interestingly elected -not- to bundle religious channels in the family tier because some programs on those channels are also considered unsuitable for younger viewers (tirades against the political hot button issues in particular). ABC Family was out because of one show - the 700 Club. Pat Robertson is definitely the problem there.

However, the 700 Club might be an apt description of the family tier, because that would be around the number of subscribers it will ultimately get with that lineup.

Congress will probably not be happy. The religious groups certainly are already annoyed. Even EWTN won't pass the TW family test, evidently.

 

[KMRichards]

Ah, the sweet irony

> It also interestingly elected -not- to bundle religious
> channels in the family tier because some programs on those
> channels are also considered unsuitable for younger viewers
> (tirades against the political hot button issues in
> particular). ABC Family was out because of one show - the
> 700 Club. Pat Robertson is definitely the problem there.

You have to love the fact that Robertson's grandfather clause keeping 700 on the former CBN is now going to prevent his show from being carried on a tier that families might opt for, bypassing the tier his show is now relegated to.

> Congress will probably not be happy. The religious groups
> certainly are already annoyed.

"Be careful what you ask for ... you might get it."<P ID="signature">______________


</P>

 

[clichemoth]

> People asked for a family tier, and now they'll have it. TW
> has announced it will roll out a family tier of channels
> requiring customers to rent digital converter boxes. The
> programming lineup is not exactly compelling. Here is the
> nationally announced tier structure for TW:
>
> Basic Tier
> Includes: Local broadcast stations, public/educational and
> government access channels mandated by local cable franchise
> authorities and other select channels
> Price: $12 Number of channels: 15-20 Price per channel: 60
> to 80 cents
>
> Family Choice Tier
> Includes: Boomerang, C-SPAN 2, C-SPAN 3, CNN Headline News,
> The Science Channel, Discovery Kids, Disney Channel, DIY
> Network, FIT-TV, Food Network, HGTV, La Familia, Nick Games
> & Sports, The Weather Channel and Toon Disney
> Price: $12.99 Number of channels: 15 Price per channel: 87
> cents
> Set-top box required: Digital Added cost: $7.99
>
> Expanded Basic Tier
> Includes: National and regional cable networks,
> superstations, local news channels.
> Price: $41.00 Number of channels: 70 to 80 Price per
> channel: 51 cents to 58 cents
>
>
> TW decided it would not include CNN, Fox or MSNBC news
> channels on the family tier because it felt CNN programming
> could be too graphic, and Fox and MSNBC contain too many
> programs that consist of shouting which would not be
> suitable for children (thus wiping out the entire Fox
> evening lineup) or contains adult themes (read that: crime
> and scandal shows which kills MSNBC and Greta.)
>
> It also interestingly elected -not- to bundle religious
> channels in the family tier because some programs on those
> channels are also considered unsuitable for younger viewers
> (tirades against the political hot button issues in
> particular). ABC Family was out because of one show - the
> 700 Club. Pat Robertson is definitely the problem there.
>
> However, the 700 Club might be an apt description of the
> family tier, because that would be around the number of
> subscribers it will ultimately get with that lineup.
>
> Congress will probably not be happy. The religious groups
> certainly are already annoyed. Even EWTN won't pass the TW
> family test, evidently.
>

Aren't many of the religious channels already on the basic tier anyway? TBN would automatically be on basic in most markets because of must carry anyway and most systems carry at least EWTN and/or Daystar as well. I'm sure CNN, FNC, MSNBC, and Bloomberg are on basic.

And why did they leave TLC and Noggin off? Or for that matter, FitTV's poor relation Lime?

 

[genXdxerLR]

Re: Ah, the sweet irony

> You have to love the fact that Robertson's grandfather
> clause keeping 700 on the former CBN is now going to prevent
> his show from being carried on a tier that families might
> opt for, bypassing the tier his show is now relegated to.

SWEET !!!!

 

[genXdxerLR]

> Aren't many of the religious channels already on the basic
> tier anyway? TBN would automatically be on basic in most
> markets because of must carry anyway and most systems carry
> at least EWTN and/or Daystar as well.

Save for EWTN, the programming on the various Pay for Pray channels are pretty much interchangeable. Miss Kenneth Copeland on TBN, catch him later on Daystar.

Bet the Wildmon Gang (aka American Family Association) are simmerin' about this.

gx

 

[rugrats1]

> Bet the Wildmon Gang (aka American Family Association) are
> simmerin' about this.

Personally, the main reason TW is omitting the religious channels is that there are a very limited amount of non-Christian channels on the market that cater to Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christian religion.

If TW offered the religious channels that are widely available now (TBN, Daystar, etc.), it would make themselves appear pro-Christian and anti-anyone else, and they did not want that.

 

[clichemoth]

> > Bet the Wildmon Gang (aka American Family Association) are
>
> > simmerin' about this.
>
> Personally, the main reason TW is omitting the religious
> channels is that there are a very limited amount of
> non-Christian channels on the market that cater to Jews,
> Muslims, and other non-Christian religion.
>
> If TW offered the religious channels that are widely
> available now (TBN, Daystar, etc.), it would make themselves
> appear pro-Christian and anti-anyone else, and they did not
> want that.
>

Very limited? Try basically none. Except for the hodgepodge on Wisdom TV, which is still mostly Christian, and National Jewish TV's small block (which airs on PBS or access in the markets that get it), it's all Christian.

 

[wxctintern]

Re: Ah, the sweet irony

Last week was so great! ABC Family Pre-Empted the 9AM & 11PM Runs of The 700 Club to run holiday movies. When did The 700 Club air on ABC Family last week? 3:00AM, only. This week they're back to the 9AM, 11PM, and 3AM runs.