NBC Nightly News open - 1993-04-01

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] The cost of cable television is coming

[0:04] down by government order.

[0:07] The Russian people. President Clinton

[0:09] asked the American people to help them

[0:10] out.

[0:12] And on America Closeup, Martin Luther

[0:13] King Jr. 25 years later, those he

[0:16] inspired.

[0:18] >> This is NBC Nightly News with Tom Bro.

[0:24] >> Good evening. Cable television is a

[0:26] rapidly expanding presence in American

[0:28] households. There are now 57 million

[0:30] subscribers and tonight they get a

[0:32] break. A 10% cut in prices now and

[0:35] protection against future runaway price

[0:37] increases. Today's action came from the

[0:39] Federal Communications Commission and

[0:41] NBC's chief economics correspondent

[0:43] Irving Ar Lavine has more for us. For

[0:46] America's cable companies, today's

[0:48] action was the crackdown they had long

[0:50] feared.

[0:51] >> All in favor say I. I. The FCC voted to

[0:54] order cable companies to reduce monthly

[0:57] rates by 10% on most basic cable

[0:59] services, eliminate all rate increases

[1:03] imposed over the past 6 months, and

[1:05] limit charges for installation and

[1:08] equipment to reflect actual costs.

[1:10] >> I'm screaming. Hear me.

[1:13] >> Today's FCC action was in response to

[1:16] widespread complaints like those voiced

[1:18] this week by consumers in Mamaran, New

[1:21] York. I would re recommend that people

[1:25] cancel cable TV. There's a lot of books

[1:28] out there.

[1:29] >> The FCC promised further action to save

[1:32] consumers big money.

[1:33] >> It is estimated that this initial rate

[1:35] reduction will exceed $1 billion.

[1:38] >> But the FCC did not reduce prices for

[1:41] pay-per-view or for premium channels

[1:44] such as HBO and Showtime. And cable

[1:47] companies are free to decide what

[1:49] constitutes a premium channel.

[1:52] Even so, cable operators threatened to

[1:54] fight the FCC action in court. Consumer

[1:57] lobbyists plan to seek more price roll

[2:00] backs. This is really just a mild slap

[2:02] on the wrist to the cable industry. The

[2:04] FCC says the real answer to consumer

[2:07] complaints is found in places like

[2:10] Montgomery, Alabama, where two cable

[2:12] companies compete for customers. When we

[2:16] uh signed up for cable, uh there was a

[2:19] free installation cost, whereas my son

[2:22] uh when he moved into Atlanta, he had to

[2:24] pay a $40 charge, but only about 100 of

[2:28] the nation's 11,000 cable systems have

[2:31] competition. The costs of setting up a

[2:34] cable system are enormous. So the

[2:36] company that gets into a community first

[2:39] has usually been able to charge what it

[2:41] wishes at least until today. Irving R.

[2:45] Lavine, NBC News, Washington.

[2:48] >> And while cable television subscribers

[2:50] were getting a price break today,

[2:51] President Clinton was asking all

[2:53] Americans to reach a little deeper into

[2:55] their pockets to help the belleaguered

[2:57] Russian people. He meets this weekend in

[3:00] Vancouver, of course, with Russian

[3:01] President Boris Yeltson. And today's

[3:03] speech was a rallying cry. And this is

[3:06] Henry Mitchell.

[3:10] >> At ease.

[3:11] >> At the Naval Academy, the president

[3:12] said, "Russian aid is not an act of

[3:14] charity. It is in America's

[3:16] self-interest.

[3:17] >> If Russia can continue to be a partner

[3:19] with us in addressing global concerns,

[3:22] and doussing the flames of regional

[3:23] crisis, then it is less likely that you

[3:26] and the men and women under your command

[3:29] will have to be sent into harm's way."

[3:31] Clinton's chief concern has been to

[3:33] avoid what happened under George Bush.

[3:35] Billions were promised. Very little was

[3:37] delivered.

[3:37] >> Our goal must be to ensure that the

[3:39] Russian people soon come to feel that

[3:41] they are the beneficiaries of reform and

[3:44] not its victims.

[3:45] >> Clinton and his advisers think little

[3:47] can be accomplished unless Boris Yelten

[3:49] controls runaway inflation.

[3:51] >> The central bank is causing the problem

[3:53] by printing money and issuing credits.

[3:55] Yeltson and his government simply have

[3:58] to find some way politically to get

[4:01] control of the central bank.

[4:02] >> Clinton's initial aid plan will be

[4:04] modest. up to a billion dollars in money

[4:06] left over from George Bush.