Break the system

A funny thing happened at a U.S. Senate hearing on indecency yesterday. The U.S. Telecom Association essentially said nothing except that it accepts responsibility to act responsible.

That's not all that surprising given that the hearing had a schedule of 25 witnesses, most of whom had a much more direct concern about Congress stepping in and imposing any kind of decency standard. However, the association missed a big opportunity to make a major impression on a bunch of people for whom IPTV is as familiar as the surface of Neptune.

Instead of simply mouthing the words that one would expect to hear from an association representative, Ed Merlis, senior vice president of government and regulatory affairs for USTA, could have stood up and proclaimed that not only do telcos have the technology in multicasting to allow for a la carte programming--and by extension, the ability to offer family-friend tiers--but that it's one of the biggest differentiators. Essentially, it has the keys to break the system apart.

Furthermore, he could have noted the irony that many of the programmers that claim Western Civilization would collapse if a la carte programming was required are actually owned by cable competitors that are loathe to give telcos any advantage.

This being a Senate hearing, though, Merlis played it close to the vest, spoke his words and quietly retreated. Nothing ventured, and certainly nothing gained.

E-mail me at VVittore@primediabusiness.com.