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from: Washington Post

AT&T files FCC access complaint against Cablevision

By Peter Kaplan
Reuters
Monday, June 18, 2007; 7:43 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. said on Monday it filed a U.S. regulatory complaint that Cablevision Systems Corp. was improperly withholding regional sports programming that AT&T must have to roll out video service in Connecticut.

from: Callahan's Diary

SB 117 and the city: Moving on

The end of local cable franchising is not quite law in Ohio, not yet. The Ohio Senate must accept the House’s changes to SB 117, or a conference committee must reconcile the two versions, and the Governor must sign the final product. But this will all happen in a matter of days. The argument is over, the deal has gone down. Time to move on.

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.

from: Buffalo News

EDITORIALS
On balance, a good bill

Right now, the final days of the State Legislature session are winding down. But in the meantime, there’s a controversy brewing among big business over a bill to change how cable television is distributed, taking it out of the hands of local municipalities and creating a special state panel to decide what company gets the franchise.

from: The Daily Record

Big hang up: Verizon fails to offer users local access

Some subscribers say stations were to be available right away

BY MICHAEL DAIGLE
DAILY RECORD
Sunday, June 17, 2007

1 Comment
Cable TV subscribers switching to Verizon from their town-licensed provider are losing access to the local, free channel used by the public, educators and local government.

from: Palm Beach Post

Cable law changes worry counties

By JASON SCHULTZ

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, June 15, 2007

Officials who run government-access TV channels on the Treasure Coast fear their days of providing easy access to government meetings for residents may be numbered because of a bill signed last month that rewrites rules for cable companies.

from: Callahan's Diary

SB 117 passes House 94 to 2; Rep. Miller claims Dems “held the line”

Every single Democrat voted for it.

The two “No” votes were Republicans Tom Brinkman of Cincinnati and Jeff Wagner of Seneca County.

My Representative, Eugene Miller, never bothered to respond to an email I sent him about SB 117 weeks ago. He apparently never responded to messages from my neighbors Tim and Gloria Ferris, either — at least until today, when he sent Gloria an email with this (a straight cut-and-paste, all errors in the original):

from: Columbus Dispatch

Ohio House passes business-backed bill for cable-TV competition
Cities don't like pre-emption of franchise contracts

Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:36 PM
By Alan Johnson
The Columbus Dispatch

A much-debated bill that would open the video-service business in the state to competition was approved overwhelmingly today by the Ohio House with no debate.

from: Cleveland.Com

Big cable gets its way vs. local franchises

Friday, June 15, 2007
Aaron Marshall
Plain Dealer Bureau

Columbus - Giants in the pay-TV business could sell their video services with one unified, statewide agreement and wouldn't have to cut deals with local governments under a bill passed by House lawmakers Thursday.

This Week's News

Ohio House Public Utilities Committee considers cable bill

Thursday, June 14, 2007

By MICHAEL J. MAURER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

A bill moving through the Ohio House of Representatives would supersede an estimated 1,400 cable franchise agreements in the state and instead would authorize the Ohio Department of Commerce to grant single, statewide video authorizations.