Cable TV

Starting today, most cable TV providers can charge what the market will bear for most channels. Federal price controls will be lifted for expanded basic services that include many popular cable channels such as Discovery, CNN, MTV and ESPN. The most basic level of service, meanwhile, which includes mostly broadcast TV channels and a few cable networks, will continue to be regulated. So will prices for set-top boxes and remote controls. The exception: If a local cable company competes against another local provider.