Is Community TV in Jeopardy?

Abstract

This September the United States Senate and House of Representatives will vote on legislation that could jeopardize the future of Public, Educational and Government (PEG) television. If passed House Bill H.R.3146 and Senate Bills S.1349 and S.1504 will transform the American media landscape by allowing telephone companies to become video service providers. In the process they will eliminate the local franchises on which PEG television depends. The most far-reaching of these bills is the Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act (S. 1504) sponsored by Senators John Ensign (R-Nevada) and John McCain (R-Arizona). This bill will eliminate funding for PEG stations that currently provide distance learning for youth, networks for libraries and universities, local election coverage, arts and other programming. The Washington-based Alliance for Community Media (ACM) describes these bills as a national video disenfranchisement act and one that will undo years of progress in connecting the people of our communities to important local institutions and services. PEG advocates are alarmed that community television could cease to exist on the date these bills are enacted. ACM Executive Director Anthony Riddle observes, the loss of franchise agreements would immediately dismantle current community access activities. He notes that about 5000 access television stations around the country could be affected by these bills, as could millions of viewers and the 1.2 million citizens who volunteer at access centers nationwide. Currently cable television companies must negotiate a contract with the local communities they service. These contracts--called franchises--allow cable television companies access to the public rights and ways. In other words, the right to run cables through publicly owned city streets and buildings. In return for this privilege the cable company must repay the community by providing channel space for PEG stations and funding to assist with the production of programming. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Phone companies are aggressively lobbying in favor of these bills, as they want to get into the business of providing broadband voice, data and video service--a so-called triple-play. These bills will block local communities from demanding that service providers offering triple-play have local franchises, and will void existing cable television franchises. Instead franchising will take place at the federal level, thereby undermining the ability of communities to ensure that communication services meet local needs. Critics note that S.1504 will allow video service providers to redline communities they don't want to serve, including ethnic or low-income communities or communities with a high density of seniors. Entire neighborhoods could be left out of the communications loop. …