Board Asked To Block Channel Cable Panel Steps Out Of Fight Over Hot Network

Concern over the Hot Network got a cool reception from the Cable Advisory Board on Wednesday.

Alarmed about the introduction by AT&T of a new pay-per-view sex channel, members of Citizens for Community Values gave an impassioned appeal for the board to advise the City Council and county commissioners to block the Hot Network.

Penny Lancaster said the Hot Network’s programming went beyond what was permissible under the First Amendment and would lead to an increase in sex crimes in Spokane.

“It’s your duty and responsibility to protect your citizens from pornography,” Lancaster told the board. “I feel the city and county could easily prosecute the Hot Network under the state definition of illegal obscenity.”

But many board members felt the board had no business tampering with cable content.

“We do not have the authority to tell AT&T what their content can be,” board member Rick Mendoza said.

“You’re dealing with constitutional rights.”

Mendoza suggested the board ask for a legal opinion on whether the programming meets the test for illegal obscenity, but other members said even that was going too far. Several recalled instructions from Mayor John Talbott that the board not involve itself in issues for which it had no responsibility.

Board member Dave Ulevog said watching the movies was a matter of personal preference.

“I remember when we were told we were going to hell for listening to Elvis Presley,” Ulevog said. “Times change. It probably wouldn’t be my choice to order this, but I don’t think we as a board have any right to tell people what to order.”

The board did ponder whether to draft an advisory letter to the county and city, but tabled the matter until next month’s meeting.

AT&T, which last year bought TCI, will begin offering the Hot Network to its approximately 18,000 digital subscribers Aug. 1.

For $9.99, viewers will be able to purchase movies that AT&T spokeswoman Alison Ruckhaber said are more explicit than anything currently being offered by the cable service.

How explicit, however, seems to be a matter for debate, since no one admits to having seen the programming. “It’s not X-rated,” Ruckhaber said in an interview. “It’s not hard-core pornography. It’s not nearly as explicit as what is available in some video stores.”

The Citizens for Community Values said they believed it was X-rated and depicted people having sex in all its graphic detail.

Group member Kimberly Drake read an e-mail she said was from the Hot Network that boasted: “While the Playboy and Spice channels cannot show sex, we can show sex.” However explicit the channel, Ruckhaber said it’s not for everyone. Nevertheless, she said, the company was providing a product to its consumers.

“As a business, we have a commitment to provide the widest variety of programming as we can,” Ruckhaber said. “It’s what our customers are asking for.”

Because the Hot Network is a digital, pay-per-view channel, Ruckhaber also said there are a number of protections in place to keep children from the movies, including a box that requires a code number for access.

But Drake described a scenario in which a child visiting a neighbor’s house for a sleep-over might see the parents watching a movie late at night.

“If this is available in our community, it will be available to our children,” Drake said. “We’re talking about illegal stuff being brought into our community.”

Board member Jay Cousins said under her definition of obscenity, Drake “is making the case for removing every adult video from every video store in town.

“AT&T, if their New York lawyers are half as smart as I think they are, will make the case that those videos are not illegal in Spokane.”