Adelphia cuts pornography option

By My Yen La
Daily Bruin Contributor

Los Angeles’ largest cable operator has begun to phase out
its exclusively adult entertainment channels from its lineup.

Adelphia Communications’ decision to remove sex channels
affects part of the 1.2 million Adelphia subscribers in the Los
Angeles metropolitan areas that purchase adult entertainment,
including some areas of Westwood.

According to Adelphia’s Communications Manager, Paul
Heimel, Adelphia plans to replace channels, such as Spice, with
less adult-oriented entertainment programs like the Health
Network.

He said the company has always felt obligated to reflect the
views of the communities it serves.

“We feel a commitment to provide programs that fall within
community standards,” Heimel said.

Adelphia’s Communications Assistant Bill Pekarski noted it
has always been Adelphia’s intention to eliminate adult
entertainment channels from their lineup. But contract provisions
sometime restrict Adelphia from removing these channels.

“Many people have applauded Adelphia for rejecting a
fast-growing adult entertainment industry, which doubled its
revenue in the last three years,” Pekarski said, “and
for going against the rising trend in satellite and cable companies
to provide that industry’s services.”

First-year undeclared student Beth Hopkins said she agrees with
Adelphia’s decision to eliminate these channels.

She said although pornography is controlled by viewers having to
pay for it, that does not make it acceptable.

“People say it’s conditional. People say it’s
not obtrusive as long as they make a choice,” Hopkins said.
“I would say that pornography is wrong and that’s an
absolute standard. You cannot compromise that.”

But others disagree with Adelphia executives’ decision to
remove these channels.

“I don’t know why it’s such a big deal,” said
third-year psychobiology student Rashmi Rao. “You don’t
get porn with your basic option. They shouldn’t take the
choice away.”

English professor Adrienne Hewitt said it’s problematic
for Adelphia executives to choose what the subscribers can
watch.

“I think it’s a detrimental standard to impose their
taste,” Hewitt said, adding that Adelphia’s efforts are
in vain.

“Even historically in literature, there’s always
been an appeal for sexually explicit and violent
representations,” Hewitt said. “I think it’s
futile to remove something that has always had an
appeal.”

She said regular watchers will seek out pornography through
videos or satellite television if they can’t watch it on
cable.

Adelphia’s censorship will have more effect on those who
watch these channels privately, said graduate math student Brian
Forbes, because these subscribers may be too embarrassed to rent
videos.

“That’s the weird thing,” Forbes said.
“They’re already ashamed of their smutty habit.
They’re going to suffer in silence.”

According to Pekarski and Heimel, removing these channels will
not severely affect the number of Adelphia customers because adult
entertainment watchers constitute only part of the plurality of the
company’s customers.

“There’s not much of an appeal for adult
entertainment,” Heimel said.

He pointed out that other pay-channels such as HBO and Showtime
generate more revenue than adult entertainment channels.

Additionally, Pekarski said because there are more services than
there are channels, Adelphia would have few problems with replacing
exclusively adult entertainment channels.