Paxson finds a porno-copia of cable capacity

In his testimony before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet during its 2/26/04 session on indecency, Bud Paxson took time to attack the presence of hard-core pornography on cable and satellite programming services. He said the level of such programming being transmitted, mostly as pay-per-view programming, amount to some 675 hours daily.

"Now, here's the point," said Paxson. "Cable and satellite use the public satellite orbital positions licensed by the FCC. They use microwave frequencies licensed by the FCC and owned by the people and the right of ways on streets also owned by the people. Cable and satellite television could not function without the public's right of ways or the public's spectrum"

"No one sitting in this room can tell me it is in the public interest for cable and satellite providers to use the public spectrum and right of ways to pipe indecent and obscene programming into America's living rooms at all hours of the day without any constraints or limitations," he continued, "

He sealed his argument with a recommendation: "How to fix this moral decay? Empower the FCC; enact legislation; have an amendment to the Constitution if necessary. You are the lawmakers. You can do it."

He tied the whole pornography issue to the DTV must-carry controversy currently in limbo at the FCC. He said broadcasters need multicast carriage, saying "...it's the one thing necessary for the DTV transition to work..."

"The cable and satellite providers say they have no spectrum for the additional program steams that would provide companies like mine with the ability to offer more family friendly programming, minority oriented programming and faith base programming."

"Tell cable and satellite to get the pornography off. They've got room for our multicast channels."