Save Access

By JAY GOETTING, Register Staff Writer
Saturday, April 15, 2006 1:12 AM PDT

Cable television battles being waged in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento may have a profound effect on Napa TV -- the two cable access channels full of local programming -- and hurt the bottom line of local government.

Two pieces of legislation raise questions about who has the right to award cable and other communications franchises, and who collects the related fees. One would give the state the control, the other would give it to the Federal Communications Commission. Right now, cities award cable franchises.

from Maine Townsman, March 2006
By Lee Burnett, Freelance Writer

These may be the good old days of public access TV.

The funding mechanism for public access TV – local franchising – is under attack in Congress. The big telephone companies Verizon, AT&T and SBC want to enter the lucrative home video market without having to negotiate local franchise agreements with every community, as cable TV companies have been required to do. The telcos are pressuring Congress for a national franchising system or, at the very least, a state franchising system.