Bill Aho’s quest to make watching movies less offensive has not only caught national media attention but also landed him in the political and legal spotlight.
Aho is CEO of ClearPlay Inc., which markets a product that lets people filter movies for profanity, violence, and sensuality. In April 2004, the company teamed with RCA and introduced a movie-filtering DVD player. “ClearPlay does something inherently interesting and beneficial to families. Seventy to 80 percent of Americans are concerned about movie content. Until now their only choice was to ignore it or turn it off,” Aho explains. “We give parents a tool. We let families decide what they see and hear in their homes.”
Brothers and BYU graduates Matt and Lee Jarman created the technology that allows people to control movie content. In 2001, Aho joined the Jarmans at ClearPlay; before that he worked in executive marketing, strategic planning, and general management positions for Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Darden Restaurants, and Ysource, Inc.
In 2002, eight motion picture studios, directors, and the Directors Guild of America filed a lawsuit against ClearPlay. Since then, the two sides have bickered back and forth with no resolution. However, in response to the litigation, Texas Representative Lamar Smith introduced HR 4586, the Family Movie Act of 2004, to the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, which was approved by the House Judiciary Committee in July, removes any questions that filtering movies in the home is legal.
“Many people are passionate advocates of what we do,” Aho says. “Congressman Smith told me, ‘This is the kind of thing Americans need. It’s a practical solution.’ ClearPlay isn’t about censorship; rather, it gives the viewer choices.”
ClearPlay, which is based in Salt Lake City, has a national customer base and will be featured on more DVD brands and models in 2005. It has received high exposure from national media, including The Today Show, ABC News, Inside Edition, USA Today, TV Guide, and hundreds of others. The company hopes to see ClearPlay as a standard feature in home entertainment.
Aho earned his MBA in 1983 from BYU and his BA from the University of Minnesota in philosophy, literature, and communications. He and his wife, Rebecca, have seven children, including two current BYU students and one BYU graduate. For more information on ClearPlay, visit www.clearplay.com.
