March 26, 2004
For Immediate Release
Contact:

Maryam Kubasek
Director of Communications
513/521-6227, ext. 111

Cincinnati— The National Coalition for the Protection of Children & Families applauds the decision made this week by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association to make it easier for parents to monitor and block programming that they choose not to view.

Leading cable companies including the 10 largest NCTA member companies and many smaller cable companies will make available upon request, at no additional charge, channel blocking technology to any cable customer who doesn’t already possess the equipment necessary to block channels.

“Since the incident at the Super Bowl, the National Coalition has taken the lead in petitioning major cable companies to provide its customers the ability to block specific channels like MTV from their cable service free of charge,” said Jack Samad, senior vice president of the National Coalition.  “We applaud the NCTA for taking a stand against the indecency so prevalent on cable television.”

Soon after this year’s halftime show, which was produced by MTV, the National Coalition set up the www.StopMTV.org website to give parents some startling facts about the music channel and encourage them to make some tough choices regarding viewing it.  Many visitors to the web site have opted to eliminate MTV viewing in their home and have been frustrated by attempts to get their local cable providers to provide opportunities to have the channel blocked.

“In a nation with the highest teenage pregnancy and STD rates of any country in the westernized world, we wanted to raise public awareness about the damaging lifestyle philosophy propagated by MTV and other cable channels,” noted Rick Schatz, president and CEO of the National Coalition.  “The NCTA has taken a monumental first step to ensure parents control what comes into their homes.”