Texas Cable Company Will Drop MTV

TYLER, Tex. — A cable television company with operations in six states has ignited a controversy with its decision to drop the MTV music video network because of videos it considers borderline pornography.

TCA of Tyler, which operates 53 cable companies, said Tuesday its 420,000 subscribers will no longer receive MTV after this Sunday.

TCA operates in Texas, Idaho, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and New Mexico.

“As a corporate citizen, we don’t feel we can continue to offer borderline pornographic materials,” said Randy Ellisor, manager of TCA’s Huntsville operations.

He cited Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and Cher’s “If I Could Hold Back Time” as particular targets of the hundreds of subscriber complaints that prompted the company’s decision.