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from: The Enquirer

Bill may kill Miami Twp.'s TV channel
Communities would have to share public access
BY BARRETT J. BRUNSMAN | BBRUNSMAN@ENQUIRER.COM

MIAMI TWP. - They want their MTTV.

Officials in this Clermont County community also want to keep the $252,000 a year in franchise fees paid by Time Warner Cable, which funds the township's TV channel.

But a bill now in the General Assembly could pull the plug on Miami Township Television - along with many other cable TV channels dedicated to villages, townships and cities throughout Ohio.

"Almost no community would have the right to continue with an exclusive channel," said Miami Township Trustee Ed Humphrey.

The Ohio House of Representatives approved the bill Thursday, 92-2. Before the measure could go to Gov. Ted Strickland to consider signing it into law, House amendments would have to be approved by the Senate, which approved the legislation 29-4 last month.

A compromise might have to be hammered out this week by a joint committee of the General Assembly.

If so, a key player would be state Sen. Robert Schuler, the Sycamore Township Republican who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee. A former township trustee and former host of a public-access cable TV program, he voted against the bill.

"We see this as a vital link to our residents," Humphrey said of Miami Township's TV channel, which serves the area's 39,279 residents.

About 47 percent of residents who responded to a mail survey in 2005 said they view MTTV.

But now, instead of Miami Township having a TV channel that focuses on the concerns of its residents, it might have to share a channel with all the other townships, villages and cities in Greater Cincinnati, Humphrey said.

If that happens, people might be less informed about their communities and how their tax dollars are spent, he said. Miami Township might be limited to programming one hour a day on such a channel.

The community wouldn't be able to insist on its own channel because the state bill would bar cities, townships and villages from negotiating with a television provider for use of public rights of way to run cable, fiber-optic or other TV lines.

The bill is designed to allow AT&T Ohio to compete with Time Warner Cable, Humphrey said. Instead of negotiating with numerous localities as Time Warner has done, AT&T could simply apply to the Ohio Department of Commerce.

Tim Pennington, the Miami Township community relations director who oversees MTTV, said that even if Time Warner Cable isn't required by law to continue offering the township a public access channel, it would be in the company's best interest to do so.

"They would be offering the consumer something a competitor might not, whether that be township trustees meetings or school board meetings," Pennington said.

Miami Township now produces about 12 hours of programming a month, featuring interviews with the three trustees and other local officials. The township hopes to double its production soon, Pennington said. Trustees spent about $28,000 last year to build and equip a TV studio, and another $20,000 is budgeted for its operation this year.

Four of Clermont County's 14 townships produce original programs, and the other 10 townships run programs produced by the county. Union Township spokeswoman Gina DiMario said the two TV channels it recently launched are also jeopardized by the bill.

The legislation could also lead to the elimination of free cable TV service for schools, libraries and local government facilities statewide, said Humphrey, a Republican who is chairman of CLOUT - the Committee of Large Ohio Urban Townships, which consists of members of the Ohio Townships Association.

The proposal could also enable media companies to cherry pick where they provide TV service, so residents of rural or low-income areas might not benefit from competition, Humphrey said.

Also taking a hit might be revenues that localities receive from negotiating cable TV rights, Humphrey said. While the bill allows for local fees, they might be reduced because the definition of "gross revenue" has been changed.

Local governments can now charge a franchise fee of up to 5 percent of a cable company's gross revenue in that area. Such fees originated as a way to compensate localities for running television cables in public rights of way. TV companies pass such fees along to consumers.

To keep the bills of local residents lower, Miami Township charges a franchise fee of just 3 percent. About $120,000 of the $252,000 the township receives annually from the fee covers the cost of its TV studio and the salaries of two employees who work in community relations. The remaining $150,000 a year goes into the general fund, which pays for things such as parks and recreation.