Sioux Falls, SD, December 12, 2005--- Midcontinent Communications announced today that it will join several other major cable operators committed to developing a “family friendly” offering of cable programming. Because of programming and technical complexities, the process is expected to take some time. Program contracts will have to be reviewed and, in many cases, renegotiated. Technical delivery systems will also have to be redesigned to carry this additional offering. The greatest challenge may well be establishing a reasonable definition of indecency and determining which of the available channels pass the “family friendly” test.
According to Midcontinent Communications Vice President of Public Policy, Tom Simmons, “Midcontinent is committed to making a best effort in all of our full service communities to offer a family friendly tier of services as soon as possible, but we have a lot of work to do. We anticipate negotiations with program providers will be difficult, but we’re ready to work in the best interest of our customers to meet customers’ expectations and give them what they want”.
The major cable operators joining Midcontinent in the pledge to develop family programming tiers are Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Advance/Newhouse Communications, Insight Communications, and Bresnan Communications. Others are expected to follow in the near future. Each cable operator is responsible for developing their definition of indecency and must decide which channels will be included in any special family friendly tier.
About Midcontinent Communications
Midcontinent Communications, a subsidiary of Midcontinent Media, Inc. and Comcast, is the Upper Midwest’s leading provider of cable television, local and long distance telephone service, high-speed Internet access, and cable advertising services to communities in North and South Dakota, Northern Nebraska, and Western Minnesota. Midcontinent’s service area includes over 200 communities serving over 200,000 customers. For more information, please visit our website at
www.midcocomm.com.
