New York -- Despite moves by the cable industry to quell concerns about indecent programming, National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Kyle McSlarrow said the debate could continue indefinitely.
"I don't expect the drumbeat to stop for two or three years, maybe never," McSlarrow said.
He noted how the cable industry has committed to running $250 million in public-service announcements that explain how to use parental controls, and how it has created family programming tiers, saying, "No industry has done more."
McSlarrow's comments came during a briefing here Thursday morning that he gave about the upcoming National Show convention in Atlanta. Oxygen Media Inc. CEO Geraldine Laybourne and Cablevision Systems Corp. chief operating officer Tom Rutledge also spoke to reporters.
Rutledge fielded questions about Cablevision chairman Chuck Dolan's previous support for a la carte programming, saying the company doesn't expect to be able to offer it any time soon.
"When Chuck Dolan talks about a la carte, he's not saying, ‘In few months or so, you're going to see a la carte.’ He's saying he wants the capability to do so. He's not saying he wants to rip the marketplace apart, either," Rutledge said.
