Bob Cranmer - Brentwood Vs. TCI Cable

Brentwood Vs. TCI Cable

He gained the attention of the national media in 1993 when he challenged the operating practices of the media giant TCI Cable. The firm, which had contracted with Brentwood to provide cable television services, added without notice or approval two explicitly adult (pay-per-view) channels, Playboy TV and Spice Networks, and was done to test market the service. When a subscriber television was turned on it would automatically "default" to one of the adult channels, each being lightly scrambled but still providing full uncensored audio. These "mechanical" features made contact with the channels unavoidable, making children vulnerable to programming designed explicitly for adult viewers.

Cranmer claimed that this was done as a ploy to entice viewers to subscribe while subjecting all viewers to the adult content, including children. He also based his objections on an existing borough ordnance that prohibited the sale of sexually explicit magazines, videos, or performances. In signing a contract with the borough, TCI had agreed to abide by all borough laws and regulations and that they were now violating the ordnance by providing “home delivery service” of pornographic material. Brentwood borough and TCI eventually came to an out-of-court agreement in which the channels would be further scrambled and blocked entirely upon request of the subscriber.