1996-124 Council Resolution - Laserfiche WebLink

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SUMMARY OF PROPOSED TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP Transfers of ownership of cable systems require the consent of the local franchising authority (City). The City has traditionally delegated through its joint powers agreement the review process to the cable commission. The process is lengthy and complicated, and has been conducted by the commission over the past four months. In this case, the issues were further complicated by the fact that at the same time as Continental was purchasing Meredith, US West was proposing purchasing Continental. Therefore, the Commission (and now the City) needed to review TWO transfers of ownership. Enclosed are the results of that review. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 1. Will the rates go up as a result of these transfers? Although no one can guarantee cable rates, the companies have assured the Commission that there are no plans to increase rates. If Meredith had retained ownership of the systems, they could have increased rates, and the new owners will not be able to increase rates any more than Meredith could have. 2. Will any channel or program offering on the system change? No. However, companies often change program channels in response to the interests of subscribers, and the new companies have the right to do the same. 3. Will there be a decrease in customer service or change in local management? No. The local management team will remain intact, as will the existing customer service representatives. 4. Will all commitments to local programming remain the same? Yes. 5. What is the phone company doing owning our cable system? US West cannot own your cable system without receiving special permission from the Federal Communications Commission. They have applied for a limited waiver (permitting them to own the systems for up to 18 months) and that petition is pending. If they do not receive the waiver, they cannot close on the sale, and Continental will retain ownership of the systems. The FCC may decide (as we argue the law requires) that the waiver requires the approval of the city. If that is the case, that decision will come back to the city, BUT THAT DECISION IS A SEPARATE DECISION FROM THIS TRANSFER DECISION.