09-06-2016 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Franchise Transfers: If Comcast or CenturyLink should want to transfer ownership of their Twin Cities area business, it requires that Cities go through a prescribed legal process. Not unlike franchise renewal it requires that the franchising authorities do a complex review of the new company's ability to operated the system from an administrative, technical, and financial perspective. This is also a time for negotiating franchise violations. This happened recently with the proposed Comcast/Time Warner sale. We settled several outstanding issues with Comcast and as a result were able to extend our franchise with Comcast by three years. This saved money in the short term, and guaranteed fee payments for the additional time frame. A likely company for a transfer of ownership would be Charter Communications. Legal Cost: $35,000 Consultant Costs Financial Analysis Initial Review and Report: $7,500 Consultant Costs Financial Analysis If They Find Something in Initial Review: Varies, but More Consultant Costs Technical Audit: $13,000 Fee Audits: Periodically we perform fee audits of the cable companies to verify proper compensation. Every time we have found underpayments. Legal Cost: $15,000 Consultant Costs Fee Analysis Initial Review and Report: $7,500 Consultant Costs Fee Analysis If They Find Something in Initial Review: Varies, but More Closed Captioning Exemption Registration: Beginning next year, Cities that cablecast their meetings, or put their meetings on-line either have to provide closed captioning or prepare a report showing why the City should be exempt. The cable commission will provide this report on behalf of our Member Cities. Legal Cost: $10,000 Miscellaneous Costs Drone Service: $500 to $1,700 per usage dependent on length of time, whether it's a live feed, and what kind of final edited product is desired.