Save Access

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.

from: MultiChannel News

Over the Top, Onto Your Television Set
What Happens If Joost Joins the 'Net Set-Top Parade
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 6/11/2007

Upstart Joost is not only trying to emulate cable's video business model online — it's plotting to join the growing gaggle of other Internet TV operators trying to nose into the living room.

from: Light Reading

State Video Franchise Push Grows
JUNE 11, 2007

Ah, the video franchise. Obtaining it is one of the final steps a carrier must take in order to provide television service to a community. Getting one is an arduous task that can take up to two years to complete for each community and has become a big thorn in the side of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T - message board) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board) as they deploy their new TV services.

from: Callahan's Diary

Foley pushes SB 117 amendments to prevent digital abandonment, create state broadband partnership

I mentioned the other day that there are a few dozen amendments proposed for Senate Bill 117, the state video/broadband franchising bill, as it nears final House markup… possibly as soon as next Tuesday.

from: FoxCity HD

HD Rants: Statewide cable franchising flops in Texas. Worried yet?

According to a survey by the Texas Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, as told in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, multichannel TV service rates have actually increased rather than decreased as promised by supporters of statewide deregulation. Texas was the first state to adopt statewide TV service franchising similar to that proposed by legislators and heavily backed by AT&T in Wisconsin. The Texas Public Utility Commission fields consumer complaints but has no staff to follow through on them, leaving customers to deal with the service providers directly.

from: Daily Southtown

Feud better not sabotage cable television bill

June 11, 2007

The issue: The Illinois House has approved a bill that makes major changes in the cable TV industry in the state. The bill's future in the Senate is hazy because of a reported feud between lawmakers.