FCC is at it again: Proposed changes to benefit big cable, harm local access channels

If new rules are adopted by the Federal Communications Commission, local public-access cable stations such as CTSB (a station in MA) could go out of business, leaving local residents without options for keeping a close eye on their town governments or school districts. Under existing FCC rules, towns and cities nationwide are allowed to negotiate franchise agreements with cable television providers. Those municipalities can require in the agreements that the cable companies meet certain community needs such as setting aside channels for public, educational or governmental (PEG) channels. These needs are funded by a franchise fee in the cable bill customers receive each month. However, the FCC’s proposal would permit cable companies to assign a value to these channels, deem them in-kind contributions and then subtract that amount, and the value they place on any other in-kind contributions, from the franchise fees the cable company pays the local community, known legally as the local franchising authority. These in-kind contributions could include free or reduced cable connections to town halls, backhaul of signals, interactive program guides, or perhaps channel spectrums allotted to the PEGs themselves, according to the northeast region of the Alliance for Community Media, a trade organization. “The result would be to charge these ‘expenses’ back against the franchise fee and essentially undermine the intent of the Cable Act,” said Mike Wassenaar, spokesman for the alliance. “The national impact on PEG Access and local municipalities could be devastating.”