"No Localism, No Merger!" message to FCC

Access Humboldt filed comments supporting Public, Education and Government access (PEG) and the role of local franchise authorities as the Federal Communications Commission considers Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable.

The FCC should:

• Require Comcast, Charter and SpinCo to make all PEG channels on all of its cable systems universally available on the basic service tier, in the same format as local broadcast channels, unless the local government specifically agrees otherwise.
• Protect PEG channel positions.
• As a condition to any consent to the transfers, the FCC should prohibit discrimination against PEG channels, and ensure that PEG channels will have the same features and functionality, and the same signal quality, as that provided to local broadcasters’ primary channels.
• Require that all PEG programming is easily accessed on menus and easily and non-discriminatorily accessible on all the Applicants’ platforms.
• Require that PEG channels have the ability to be distributed on HD tiers.