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STAFF MEMO Comcast Cable Franchise Extension Introduction The City is a member of the North Suburban Communications Commission (the “NSCC”), a municipal joint powers commission that negotiates and administers the cable communications system franchises on behalf of its nine member cities. Those nine cities are Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, Roseville, and St. Anthony Village. Each member city adopts its cable television franchise agreement, which is both an agreement and an ordinance. The City currently has one franchised cable television operator, which is Comcast. A franchise grants a valuable privilege to Comcast to use the public rights-of-way in order to construct and operate a cable system to provide cable service. The City’s current cable television franchise agreement with Comcast has a ten-year term and was effective January 1, 2017. When a cable operator desires to renew its cable television franchise with a city, it is required to send a notice to the city 30-36 months prior to the expiration of the franchise. Comcast sent such a notice to the City and the NSCC in early 2024. In the notice, Comcast reserved the right to pursue its renewal pursuant to the formal process set forth in the federal Cable Act, but it indicated a preference to renewing it through informal negotiations. Shortly after receiving the notice, the NSCC adopted a resolution commencing the renewal process, which it is required to do under the federal Cable Act and sent a letter to Comcast agreeing to pursue the cable television franchise renewal through informal contract negotiations, while, like Comcast, also reserving the City’s rights to pursue the formal renewal process. Shortly thereafter, the NSCC and Comcast began informal renewal negotiations. In 2025, NSCC counsel and Comcast tentatively agreed on a cable franchise renewal extension that would extend the current terms and conditions of the cable television franchise agreement through 2032. The extension was presented to the NSCC board in May, 2025 and the board recommended to all of the member cities of the NSCC to approve the extension. The cable television franchise agreement extension is done by ordinance, since the cable television franchise agreement is both an agreement and an ordinance. The cable television franchise agreement extension ordinance has also been approved by Comcast. The current cable television remains one of the best, if not the best, cable television franchises in the metro area. The following is a high-level summary of the current cable 28