TCI Dog Remote

Kid Control, by design, received only eight networks - seven cable and PBS. The networks, all suitable for youngsters, were programmed into the remote and identified by their logos. So pint-sized channel surfers could click from Disney to Nickelodeon to the Cartoon Network to PBS, while they were shielded from the likes of Jenny Jones (a previous talk show host) or afternoon soaps. The Kid Control product snared some attention because it has the backing of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), in 1995 the then nation's biggest cable operator and an industry pacesetter. In fact, the idea was the brainchild of a TCI executive who saw it as a way to spruce up cable's image, appeal to parents and, not incidentally, get kids into the habit of watching cable.