Non-religious people : Atheists , etc. Do you think it should be illegal for the Cable and Satellite TV ...?

Question

companies to force us to take religious programming with their "packages" ? Shouldn't we be able to choose alternative programs . Wouldn't there be an uproar if these companies insisted on people allowing porno into their homes and making them pay for it ?

Anjelo , But you have to pay for it if it is part of the package !

Solly , Maybe YOU don't have cable , but IF you need it , you ARE forced to pay for those stations and there is no way to block them .

LJ , I was referring to the basic packages which exclude porno ( x rated)due to the demands of the Christian Conservatives .

Nobody Important , according to the FCC and the Federal Trade Commission I do have a right to cable or Sattelite TV reception . And I do have a right to delete porno programming . The TV companies are forced to include religious programs do to the efforts of Consevative Christians .

danhy , I believe there are bills before congress that establish this type of program selection . I don't need Children's programing or soccer matches or professional wrestling , let alone ETWN and the other 4 religious stations I get with my basic cable package .

Zombie , We have one cable co. and two satellite co. available All 3 start with basic service which gives you religious programs and doesn't include the Health Channel .

Answer 1

Why not do something even better than that: I'd like it if the cable/satellite companies let you have full control over which channels you get and which ones you don't, rather than having premade "packages." After all, why should I pay for channels I never watch, like QVC or ESPN?

It's a great plan: everyone wins. The atheists won't have to pay for channels like EWTN, and Christians won't have to pay for Cinemax or whatever else they might object to. Everyone gets the channels they want.

Answer 2

Well, from the companies' point of view, they are trying to sell off their popular channels with the less popular ones, hence the package deal.

As subscribers' we can still skip the channel if you do not want to watch it. Its like a non- soccer fan receiving 3 football channels, as part of the same deal. Another example can be a Indian family recieving a Chinese channel, which they cannot understand.

The package deals are constructed to appeal to the general public, and not a target minority. However, some companies to allow subscribers to customize their content, according to tiers (or popularity) of the channels

As for inclusion of pornography, there's a difference, as it is against the law to make pornographic material available to the underaged. Hence, the parents would then have a legal right to sue the cable companies.

Answer 3

If you're actually being billed for the channel, you should have the right to have it removed. As part of a package, I am going to say no. I'm not big on the majority of the sports programs and other channels. Give me History Channel, Discovery, A&E and Sci-Fi, I could easily do without my other 201 channels. Now what I do object to is religious channels coming in as filler to many of the other channels. I also object to the infomercials.

Had to add if unfamiliar with me, I'm an athiest. I feel so redundant in repeating myself.

Answer 4

Well, its part of the package, you can program your cable box or satellite box to skip that channel.
I dont think it's a good idea to compare Christian religous channels with Atheist porn channels lol. A better comparison would be if we had an Atheism channel that they were forced to have and pay for.
Anyway, sometimes it fun to watch them just for S & Gs. I especially like to watch the lady with the blonde curly wig, 5 inch eyelashes, and bipolar makeup cry when begging for money, she obviously wants it to buy more plastic surgery, it's super entertaining when there is nothing else on.

Answer 5

Actually, I think the religious channels all pay the cable companies for their spots in the lineup since there are so few people who would actually pay to recieve them. That being said, you are not paying for those stations in the way you are for commercial-based stations with quality programing. They are being provided along with those that you do pay for as a convience to those people who want them.

If you are unhappy with the channels, then block them.

Also, its a free market... call the cable company and complain.

Or better yet, you could sue. That seems to be the American way these days.

Answer 6

Being a proponent of free markets, I can't rightly say any company should be forced at gunpoint to offer you this or that. The solution is to simply not buy "packages" from companies that include religious programming, if you find it that offensive. Also, you can always just change the channel. I sympathize with your porn comparison, though --- there would be an uproar, no question.

Answer 7

No, I don't think we should be forced to VIEW all channels they give us. But unless you want to pay 3 times as much for a la carte programming (picking and choosing every channel or type of channels you really want to receive), then use your remote or satellite box to program out those channels you don't want to see.

I have satellite and there are a dozen religious stations. They are all tuned out so I never see them. No harm, no foul. I also tune out all of the hundreds of sports channels. (Actually, I have TIVO so I just program IN the channels I want to see... very easy and keeps my costs lower than if I had to choose and pay for each channel I wanted.)

Answer 8

Yes. However, I think we should be able to choose exactly what channels we have as part of a "package". Like I'd like to be able to have the discovery channel, spike, space, and a few others. There are maybe 10 channels I actually want, when I have 60 on the tv.

But I don't think we have the technology to actually handle broadcasts in that way just yet.

Answer 9

Your remote control has a channel selector that lets you program the ones you want, and tune out the ones you don't want!
It is not that hard.

Francie, take a flying leap, huh?

Answer 10

If you don't like the television package being offered, then don't get it. You don't have a right to television, and the company offering television programming has the right to offer it however they see fit. Don't like it? Broadcast your own programming, or purchase television shows on DVD.