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FROM: Leader Online

Cable bill opponents continue fight

By Kathleen Folkerth

GREATER AKRON — A bill that would change the way cable franchises are negotiated is now in the Ohio House as opponents speak out on the changes it could bring to local access channels.

Ohio Senate Bill 117, called the Ohio Video Competition Act of 2007, was passed by the Senate’s Energy and Public Utilities Committee by a vote of 7-1 May 8. The next day it was approved by the Senate with a vote of 29-4. Now the bill is in the Public Utilities Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives. A public hearing for proponents of the bill is scheduled for May 23, while one for opponents will be May 30.

The bill provides for a state franchising system for cable television service, rather than the current system in which municipalities have that authority. Supporters of the bill say that the increased competition that will result from the bill will provide more choices for consumers.

But opponents of the bill question the cost of providing more choice. One of their concerns is that the public, education and government — or PEG — channels will be eliminated or put in the higher tier of cable channels, resulting in less accessibility to viewers.

A diverse group of citizens, from mayors and members of city councils to PTA members and independent video producers, aired their concerns about the issue during a hearing in the Senate in April, according to Rose Wiltcher, an Akron producer who attended and filmed the proceedings.

“It’s bad for consumers, whether they’re viewers of PEG or producers,” Wiltcher said. “Anyone across the state is a potential user of PEG. We deal with everyday citizens and give them a way to use the media.”

PEG channels include the channels that are used by local school districts and governments to air information and meetings. Cable systems also are required to offer one channel for locally produced programming.

Locally, Richfield Village Council and New Franklin Village Council have passed resolutions against the bill, while Bath Township Administrator Bill Snow discussed his opposition to it during an April meeting.

Snow said this week that because there are so many amendments to the bill, he’s not sure where he stands today. But he was concerned about the availability of local channels and the loss of franchise fees as well as the loss of control over placement of service.

Telecommunications companies like AT&T are said to be behind the campaign to change the way Ohio does its cable business. Recently, subscribers to the Akron Beacon Journal received an insert regarding choice in cable television from an organization called TV4us. According to the Common Cause Education Fund’s special report on front groups for the telecom industry, the organization represents AT&T and other business interests.

Ohio Sen. Kevin Coughlin (R-District 27) is on the Senate’s Energy and Public Utilities Committee and voted for the bill last week. He said he was not in favor of the bill in its original form.

“I had a two-hour meeting in Hudson at their cable access station where I heard all the concerns from the city and from supporters of public access,” Coughlin said. “I took those issues down to Columbus. About 80 to 90 percent of the things ended up being amended into the bill, and the concerns were addressed by the time it came to the floor.”

Coughlin said the existence of public access channels were grandfathered in, and funding would continue to be provided, at least through 2012.

The senator said the changes to the bill would allow two PEG channels to stay on basic cable, while the third must be in a tier to which at least 50 percent of subscribers have access.

But Wiltcher said moving one of the PEG channels off basic cable is a violation of federal law.

“What they want to do is, like in Wadsworth, if this passes, they would keep their channels, but only two will stay on the basic level,” Wiltcher said. “So Wadsworth has to decide. One of those three will move to upper tier. That is in violation of federal law. I learned back in high school civics that you can’t do that.”

But Coughlin thinks what the senate passed is good for citizens.

“It’s a great bill,” Coughlin said. “It’s going to put more options for video service at our fingertips so we no longer have cable monopolies. Prices will go down; it will improve quality and improve services. The immediate impact is better customer service.”

He said those still concerned about changes to the PEG channels should understand that “the bill as passed by the Senate allows them to continue to operate as they are.”

But he said that changing technology will ultimately affect the way viewers watch and select programming in the future.

“There’s going to be a day when the current model of public access channels become obsolete and is replaced by something else,” he said.

Wiltcher said she and opponents of the bill are now contacting members of the House committee to voice their opinion on the bill. She encouraged others who are not happy with the bill to do the same.

“Right at this minute they can derail this or they can revise it,” she said. “I hope they derail the whole thing because we don’t need this.”