Cable franchise renewals are important for New Yorkers in order to ensure that their communities will have modern media systems that serve the future needs and interests of their communities.
Many of the most important issues relate to public, educational and governmental (“PEG”) channels, particularly the amount of capacity (channels, or bandwidth as the industry moves into a digital environment) and the requisite level of funding for such access.
There shall be provisions consistent with past practice and current standards requiring adequate financial support, technical quality and channel capacity BE PROVIDED TO THE for NYC Community Access Organizations (CAOs) to meet cable-related community needs and interests throughout each of the boroughs during the term of the franchise agreements.
Cable company franchise agreements, set for and renegotiated every 15 years, give cable companies permission to use public “right-of-way” to operate their cable systems and deliver cable service. State or local governments can revoke an operator’s franchise or deny renewal of it if the operator fails to comply substantially with the existing agreement, provides inferior service, proves to be legally or technically unqualified, or fails to meet the future needs of the community. Informal renewals can
The City of New York has the authority to award cable franchises and to determine the qualifications necessary for systems to be awarded local franchises and is authorized to negotiate these agreements on behalf of New Yorkers. (Section 626 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, aka the “Cable Act”).
NYC’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) manages telecommunications franchises for New York City, including those for cable television. Three companies currently have cable television franchises with the City: Altice USA, Spectrum, and Verizon. A fourth company, RCN, holds an Open Video System (OVS) contract.
The 1984 act requires cable operators to set aside channels for public, educational, and governmental use, commonly known as PEG channels. The cable operators exercise little control over the content on these channels, which are used for a wide variety of programming, including but not limited to public meetings, delivery of instructional material, and student-produced television programs. All of NYC’s community media cable channels are classified as PEG channels and operate as such.
Find the city’s current franchise agreement documentation here: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doitt/business/cable-tv-franchises.page
New York City Council Resolution
RES 0620
Version: 2018
Status: Approved 12/11/2018 (Unanimous)
Federal Communications Commission to reject the proposed rules put forth in the Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 18-131 and to create provisions that would strengthen public, educational, and governmental access television.