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from: The Tennessean Cable man's alleged abductor ordered to get mental exam June 10, 2008 By CHRIS ECHEGARAY Staff Writer The cable TV war in Tennessee has reached new heights. But it's not the competitors waging this battle — it's a customer. His name is John Weatherly, and he has been accused of kidnapping a Comcast technician during a service call in March 2007.

from: WZTV Tennessee Governor Signs Statewide Video Franchise Bill Into Law Associated Press, May 19, 2008 Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed into law a bill to create statewide TV cable franchising in Tennessee. The measure pushed by AT&T Inc. was the result of two years of negotiations with the cable industry and local governments that also saw millions spent on lobbying and advertising campaigns.

from: The City Paper As AT&T legislation wraps up, city may be first to see U-verse By John Rodgers, Friday, May 2, 2008 3:21 am Nashvillians and residents of neighboring counties will likely have the first crack at AT&T’s television programming later this year now that legislation is close to becoming law, a lawmaker close to the telecom said.

from: Nashville Public radio Statewide Cable Franchise Bill Passes General Assembly Thursday, May 01st, 2008 A bill that would allow AT&T to expand into cable and broadband internet services statewide is on its way to the governor. The Senate unanimously passed the measure today, after two years of behind-the-scenes bargaining between the giant phone utility and the cable television industry. Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey says he’s satisfied with the end result.

from: The City Paper Historic’ AT&T bill headed to governor By John Rodgers, jrodgers@nashvillecitypaper.com Updated: Thursday, May 1, 2008 10:33 am Calling it a “historic day in Tennessee,” the Senate unanimously approved a bill this morning paving the way for AT&T to start offering television programming in Tennessee and compete with the cable industry.

from: Times Free Press Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Nashville: House approves AT&T cable deal By: Andy Sher NASHVILLE — The House voted 93-2 Monday for legislation that would let AT&T begin competing with cable companies to provide television services across Tennessee.

from: AP Wire Cable bill passes House Associated Press - April 28, 2008 6:35 PM ET NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A proposal to provide statewide cable TV franchising has passed the House. The legislation approved 93-2 on Monday would allow companies like AT&T Inc. to avoid having to seek hundreds of municipal permits to offer TV service.

from: Elliott Mitchell Music City Arts TV9 / iQ TV10 http://www.meac.tv Attached, please find the final language of the Franchise "Reform" Legislation in the General Assembly in Tennessee. There has been some criticism of the draft version of this legislation, and insofar as I can tell the final version is identical to the draft. I will be the first to tell you that the bill is imperfect, but I also know some of its genesis and was privileged to be among the PEG folks asked to help the Tennessee Municipal League understand and object to many of the demands of both Telco and Cable during closed-door "negotiation." I believe I can report that due to TML's help, PEG in Tennessee dodged several major bullets, where other states have been not so fortunate.

from: City Paper Despite compromise bill, cable ads bashing AT&T still ran By John Rodgers Nashville City Paper 04/23/08 Despite compromise bill, cable ads bashing AT&T still ran | comcast, at&t, compromise bill, television franchising, state legislature Tennessee Cable Telecommunications Association says continued ads targeting AT&T after compromise could be due to timing in getting them off the air. Matthew Williams/The City Paper

from: The Pacer Competitive cable legislation moves in house Heather Peterson Comprise legislation that seeks to provide statewide cable TV franchising is moving in the house with little debate. The measure unanimously passed the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday after Democratic chairman Charles Curtiss of Sparta had state Comptroller John Morgan address committee members to make sure they understood the bill.

from: MultiChannel News Tennessee Franchising Bill Aims To Extend Broadband Services Local Governments Could Also Subsidize Deployment If Private Sector Passes By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 4/11/2008 1:10:00 PM Legislators in Tennessee have been presented a new version of a state franchising bill with a unique scheme to provide an incentive to new providers to extend broadband services.

from: Nashville City Paper AT&T Won't Say Where It'd Offer TV if Bill Passes April 9, 2008 By John Rodgers Despite lobbying for a bill to start offering television services and compete with cable, AT&T will not say where it would offer those services if legislation were approved. “For competitive reasons, the company does not outline those plans,” said Bob Corney, an AT&T spokesman. “But, our goal is to try to get our product to as many customers as possible as quickly as possible.”

from: Light Reading Nice Lobby APRIL 10, 2008 Discuss > 1:00 PM -- There's one industry in the U.S. economy that is certainly not in a recession: lobbying. In New York state alone, lobbyists had a golden year in 2007, taking in a record $172.1 million. There are a lot of people and companies to thank for that, but none more so than Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board).

from: Cup of Joe Thursday, April 10, 2008 Devilish Details In TN Cable Franchise Legislation A definition of the word Legislation: a solution to a problem which may, or may not actually exist, which may or may not actually create any observable results, and typically is a hand-stitched agreement crafted after some great length of time in order that the public be aroused or dulled and during which time money may be applied to preserve, alter or eliminate debate.

from: Riedel Communications Thursday, April 10, 2008 Tennessee Waltz It’s every woman’s nightmare. You take your sweetheart to a dance and your best friend dances off with him. Sure it feels like betrayal, but they couldn’t help themselves, they fell in love with each other while they were dancing. Nothing personal, mind you, nothing personal.

from: TN Municipal League For Immediate Release Contact: Carole Graves (615) 255-6416 April 8, 2008 TML Communications Director Cable Compromise Fair and Protects Consumers The Tennessee Municipal League offered the following statement in response to the

from: Knox News Compromise puts cable bill back on track Wednesday, April 9, 2008 One of the biggest lobbying efforts in the Tennessee Legislature in recent years involved legislation to give communications giant AT&T the ability to have a cable franchise in the state. One lawmaker, in fact, dubbed the proposed Competitive Cable and Video Services Act as the Lobbyist Employment Act.

from: Nashville Post Cable-AT&T legislation unveiled Summary of the most anticipated bill of the legislature as well as statements from the groups involved By Ken Whitehouse 04-07-2008 3:28 PM — Members of the Tennessee State Legislature have unveiled what they call "The Competitive Cable and Video Services Act," the most anticipated piece of legislation this session.

from: Cup of Joe Tuesday, April 08, 2008 State Cable Franchise Plan Moves Ahead Yesterday state officials provided information about a draft agreement for the state to start offering statewide cable TV franchises, just as AT&T wanted, and along the way the state will create a new oversight agency and a new fund to "promote" broadband internet access.

from: Nashvilles City Paper AT&T, cable compromise bill debuts by John Rodgers Nashville City Paper 04/07/08 Tennesseans rooting for another alternative to cable television are a step closer to victory today as a compromise bill was unveiled that AT&T says it needs to offer television services.