Religious broadcasters foresee lost viewership

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http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=100451&ran=79719

Religious broadcasters foresee lost viewership

By STEVEN G. VEGH, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 2, 2006

The idea of paying for only the cable channels they want might have strong appeal for consumers, but to religious programmers, the prospect seems just short of apocalyptic.

Pay-per-channel pricing “would have a devastating effect on the inspirational programming we currently provide” and “decimate both the audience and financial support for religious broadcasting,” according to the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition. The group includes Pat Robertson ’s Christian Broadcasting Network, which is based in Virginia Beach.

Last month, the Federal Communications Commission said that with per-channel pricing, consumers could save as much as 13 percent on their cable bills. Under the arrangement, consumers would no longer have to buy cable in packages or bundles that may include dozens of channels they do not want. The FCC said the average household watches only 17 channels. In South Hampton Roads, Cox Communications’ “standard” cable package has 70 channels, according to the company’s Web site.

Many evangelical broadcasters, and much of the cable industry, dispute the consumer savings claim and oppose per-channel pricing, also known as a la carte cable...