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from: WZTV

Tennessee Governor Signs Statewide Video Franchise Bill Into Law

Associated Press, May 19, 2008

Gov. Phil Bredesen has signed into law a bill to create statewide TV cable franchising in Tennessee.

The measure pushed by AT&T Inc. was the result of two years of negotiations with the cable industry and local governments that also saw millions spent on lobbying and advertising campaigns.

Local governments had worried about losing control over setting cable rules and the fees collected from those permits. Cable companies had argued that it was unfair AT&T circumvent the existing rules to be able to offer their services statewide.

AT&T says the law will allow the company to roll out its U-verse package, which delivers TV content to consumers using the Internet, rather than through traditional cable or broadcast formats.