Local cable access funding on Cape Cod threatened
By Cynthia McCormickPosted Nov 21, 2018
Local community access companies and government officials say the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to change the way government and public channels are funded by cable companies would gut local programming.
“It could completely devastate us,” said Kate McMahon, director of outreach and special projects at the Cape Cod Community Media Center in Dennis Port.
The media center launched a vlog [sic], called “Keep Community Media Alive!” that spells out the challenges posed by the FCC’s proposal, released on Sept. 25 in what is known as a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM.
The proposed change in FCC regulations “could truly spell the end of public access stations nationwide,” said Pittsburgh attorney Dan Cohen, who filed comments before the FCC on behalf of MassAccess, which represents community access stations in Massachusetts.
The way funding agreements exist now, every local government in Massachusetts gets money from cable companies for the use of rights of way, called franchise fees, Cohen said.
“Those franchise fees can be used for any public purpose,” from police to potholes, Cohen said.
In communities with public access stations, franchise fees also are passed along to support staffing and programming, he said.
But the FCC rule change would reduce local government revenue by allowing cable companies to consider the public access channels themselves — including the so-called PEG channels where government, educational and public access programs are aired for free — a value that can be used to offset franchise fees, Cohen said.
The effect would be to greatly defund public access stations, Cohen said.
“These channels serve an important purpose,” he said. “Public access is a community asset. It is a vehicle for free speech.”
But the Internet and Television Association says the FCC change would promote faster broadband deployment by curbing what it calls “government abuses” that it claims are “placing an unnecessary burden on cable operators.”
The association did not respond to a phone call and email requesting comment for this story.
But in a statement published on its website, the association accused government authorities of siphoning off cable company moneys.
The Internet and Television Association says governments demand extra fees and services from cable companies that have already paid a fee for rights-of-way, which it says is well beyond a 5 percent fee cap on gross revenues established by Congress.
The association says it supports “the FCC’s effort to ensure that state and local governments abide by the franchise fee limits.”
State Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said the FCC’s proposal would “erode existing funding agreements between cable access TV stations and cable companies” and warned it “would cripple cable access stations across the U.S.”
“This seems like nothing more than a giveaway by the FCC to profitable and large companies, many of whom have a monopoly in the marketplace,” he said. “I don’t usually weigh in on federal issues, but this one is of extreme importance, and potentially devastating to our community TV stations.”
Watching local government in action and receiving local educational and school-related programming via the PEG channels “is an irreplaceable source of local programming for the public that is not otherwise available through cable services,” Barnstable Town Manager Mark Ells wrote the FCC in a Nov. 14 letter.
“The town of Barnstable currently tapes over 40 board, committee and commission meetings each month,” Ells wrote in the letter.
The programming offers an opportunity for “snowbirds” to stay in touch with their community, and lets older people who don’t drive at night or in bad weather “to view town government from the safety of their home,” Ells wrote.
“For decades, the town of Barnstable has worked with private business to successfully negotiate franchise agreements that are beneficial to both parties,” he wrote. “The town of Barnstable strongly opposes any efforts that would strip municipalities from receiving in-kind contributions outside of the five percent franchise fee cap and preempt local authority, especially in their rights-of-way.”
Community access television stations fear that local governments could close down channels rather than take the reduction in revenues from the cable companies, Cohen said.
“If the rule went through, it would be devastating,” Cohen said.
Officials with community access stations not only air local programming, they train hundreds of community members, including high school students, in the use of video equipment and electronics and in the art of television broadcasting.
“We just wrapped up a session with local nonprofits on how to create a (public service announcement),” McMahon said.
Cape Cod Community Media Center’s “Books in the World” started in the 1950s and is the longest running public access show in the country, McMahon said.
In addition to government programming, the media center features shows on floral arranging, singing, local news and political views.
The center gets close to $1 million a year via the municipalities of Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich and Chatham from Comcast fees, McMahon said.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is likely to make a decision on the proposal in the first half of 2019, Cohen said.
The first round of public comments was due to the FCC by Nov. 14.
People who missed their chance the first time around, or who want to comment again, have until Dec. 14, when another round of comments is due, Cohen said.
More info
To learn more about the FCC proposal on local cable access funding and how to comment, go to capemedia.org/keep-community-media-alive-we-need-your-help/
This decision could eliminate government transparency, limit free speech, and reduce the public’s access to media channels. We need to raise our voices against these proposed changes.
We have until November 14th to let the FCC know how this could negatively impact our communities. Please submit a comment to the FCC before that date. Here’s how:
- Visit the FCC’s website at Bit.ly/SaveCommunityMedia
- Click + Express
- Fill in your information, including a brief comment about how this proposal could negatively impact you, your organization, or the community.
If you need help coming up with a comment, here are some ideas:
- My membership at the Cape Cod Community Media Center has allowed me to…
- Community media has raised the visibility of my organization by…
- As a community leader, I see the value of community media…
- I have benefitted from watching locally-produced programming because…
- My children/students have gained skills utilizing our community media center…
We encourage you to watch and share the following PSA:
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