A letter to Verizon Communications from Chris Ingram

March 17, 2009

Ivan G. Seidenberg

Chairman and CEO

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc.

1095 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10036

Dear Mr. Seidenberg:

We have enjoyed FIOS TV since subscribing to it in the summer of 2007.

However, as our three girls ages 5 and twins 2, have gotten older and interested in occasionally watching television, your service has become a problem.

Specifically, when we go to select a kids “on demand” program such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, or The Berenstain Bears, your company runs advertisements for other “on demand” products or pay-per-view items. These are shown in a small box on the menu selection screen and cannot be turned off.  This morning when pulling up Dora on demand, a trailer for the movie Saw came on.

Saw is a horror film from a company called “Twisted Pictures” which describes the film as a “grisly horror film.”

My wife and I can forgive your company for offering to us the adult trash you now offer through pay-per-view with titles like 1st Time Man Lickers, Wet Amateur Moms and 10 Best: Real Teens (which sounds like it glorifies pedophilia), since we simply choose to just not view this crap. But using the service to let our children watch children’s programs includes inappropriate content which we cannot control.

This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2009.