Local Franchises Get Local Support

LOCAL FRANCHISES GET LOCAL SUPPORT
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Kent Gibbons]
[Commentary] The nation’s biggest phone companies have excellent lobbyists in Washington, working hard to see to it that their clients don't have to go city by city, across the country, negotiating entry into the video business the way cable companies had to do it. The cable companies, not wanting any such legislation to make life easier for their telephone rivals, have some interesting allies who've taken their side. On the steps of City Hall in Manhattan last week, those allies included organizations that: Aid sweatshop workers in Chinatown; Assist apartment renters in disputes with landlords; and Provide training to city residents eager to learn the TV-production business. Representing the last category were officials from the city’s public-access TV corporations, and they brought all three categories together by providing a platform for documentary programs and call-in information shows that potentially reach millions of cable-TV watchers. City council members who backed an anti-national-franchising resolution that passed, 50-0, the same day as the rally had more than public-access TV on their minds -- namely, the $81 million per year that Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems and RCN pay in fees under the franchise contracts that provide for the 16 public, education and government channels in the city’s five boroughs, plus other perks like an institutional communications network. Cable companies have backed some grassroots anti-telco lobbying efforts, but no cable people were in evidence at City Hall. Yu of MNN said some individual cable executives have voiced support for their efforts at public hearings. But last Wednesday’s event was an example of local groups that needed no separate funding to get local elected officials on their side. It just remains to be seen how much collective influence actions like the City Council’s unanimous vote last week will have on heavily lobbied representatives in Washington.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6334330.html?display=Opinion