Action Alert: Oppose HB 2812 and SB 1421
Posted February 8th, 2006 by Administrator in News, Front PageWhy is the state legislature getting involved with local cable franchise fees? Historically, cable companies have successfully worked with cities and towns in order to use our public right of ways, streets and alleys. Now Cox Communications is going directly to the state legislature with these bills to limit the City of Tucson’s ability to negotiate in your best interest.
If HB 2812 and SB 1421 pass:
- Tucson loses millions in cable franchise fees.
- These fees support your local PEG channels as well as basic city services such as Fire, Police and potholes.
- You lose your local PEG channels (Access Tucson, Educational and Government channels).
Cox Communication currently airs nine PEG channels: Access Tucson, City Channel 12, Pima Community College, Tucson Unified School District, and the University of Arizona. SB 1421 offers Tucson two community cable channels and HB 2812 proposes four channels. Do you want more shopping channels at the expense of entertaining, educational and informational programming about you and your community?
These bills are targeted at Tucson. The city has negotiated well to maintain some of the nations’s best PEG facilities and channels. Now Cox Communications wants to commercialize these channels by capitalizing on your public right-of-ways, streets and alleys. The City of Phoenix didn’t need the help of the State legislature in its recent cable license renewal with Cox Communications. Cities MUST be able to negotiate fair compensation without state involvement.
Cox Communications is a Fortune 500 company with gross revenues in the billions of dollars. Why do they need a handout from the State of Arizona? Studies have shown that the number of PEG channels or financial support from the cable company has no bearing on your cable rates. The cable company charges whatever the local market will bear.
Additonally, your Community Cable Channels are also being threatened at the national level by pending legislation in Congress - see these web pages for more information: http://mnn.org/saveaccess/index.html and http://alliancecm.org