01-12-2015 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM 3A STAFF ORIGINATOR: Jeff Karlson MEETING DATE: January 12, 2015 TOPIC: Cable TV Franchise Settlement Agreement VOTE REQUIRED: 3/5 BACKGROUND The Cable Franchise between Comcast and the City is presently set to expire in November, 2017. Comcast recently sent correspondence requesting the franchise be renewed. Comcast also recently filed an application with the North Metro Telecommunications Commission (the "NMTC") requesting that its franchise be transferred to Midwest Cable. There also remains pending certain franchise compliance issues and certain needs and interests of the NMTC that need to be addressed. Mike Bradley, attorney for the NMTC, in consultation with NMTC leadership, negotiated a Franchise Settlement Agreement with Comcast that addresses several of these issues. The following are some highlights of the Agreement: • Cable Franchise to be extended through December 31, 2020. This will allow the NMTC to avoid the costs of a typically expensive renewal process for another 3 years, allowing it to focus its resources on its member cities' needs. • A MOU from 1996 will also be extended through December 31, 2020. The MOU contains a financial commitment from Comcast for the support of the NMTC. It results in approximately $800,000 of funding per year. • In the event the Franchise rolls over past the expiration date, the MOU will do the same. This helps to ensure the Member Cities that the funding for the NMTC will not end until a renewed franchise is agreed upon. • NMTC upon 90 days' notice will receive one high definition (HD) channel (replacing a standard definition (SD) channel) with provisions for channel placement and quality. NMTC currently has no HD channels. This will give HD subscriber's access to NMTC programming with the best signal quality. • NMTC will have the option after 12 months to replace an additional SD channel with an HD channel, giving the NMTC 2 HD channels and 4 SD channels. • NMTC will have access to the Electronic Programming Guide, which will allow viewers to view programming information of the NMTC across multiple platforms.