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“Consumers should not have to pay for programming they don’t want or watch,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “The current antiquated, antidemocratic system imposes all-or-nothing cable packages that give consumers no control over their cable bill, and prevent subscribers from voting with their feet when they are unhappy."

McCain's bill, the Television Consumer Freedom Act, would void a copyright benefit for cable providers that insist on bundling their channels. The step would create legal headaches for cable companies when they try to offer local broadcast stations.

The legislation would also condition certain regulatory benefits for media companies on them, allowing cable providers to sell their programming on an a la carte basis.

McCain argues that his bill only leverages special government benefits that TV companies currently receive and does not mandate a specific business model.

But TV industry officials argue that an a la carte model would actually result in higher prices for most consumers. With fewer subscribers, the cost of each individual channel would skyrocket, the officials claim.

The Senate Commerce Committee overwhelmingly voted down similar legislation from McCain in 2006.