Cable Franchise

WCCA TV received a call today, unexpectedly, from a T&G reporter seeking follow up information pertaining to the status of the recent recommendations which the City Manager's Cable Advisory Committee voted upon on August 19th.

We referred the reporter to our on line journal. To this date we have no further information to report. We did re-request a copy of the recommendations as approved at the last meeting and we hope to receive the document soon so we can begin the work of moving forward. We look forward to some closure on this matter so WCCA can really get back to focusing on being the best public access center possible.

Our continued thanks goes out to the cable advisory committee members for all their time and effort. We also send continuous thanks to all of our volunteers, members, and friends of WCCA for your letters to the city and editorials, and support through this rather lengthly process.

MD

Last night, Aug.5,2008, WCCA joined others attending the Cable Advisory Meeting.
T&G's Nick Kotsopoulus also was and wrote about it.
link to T&G

The meeting was one of the better ones. There was much good debate, as any healthy public meeting would include.

The committee came to decisions regarding what they will recommend to the city Manager among such items covered was the distribution of PEG funding
including a capital grant and franchise fees. The current formula 60-20-20 was recommended for both capital and franchise funding allocations. This was the same as in the past contract. The question is the government channel and the educational channel combined may have a surplus of over a million dollars balance remaining from the last contract. WCCA argued that under the current formula the 40 percent split between the city and educational channel is much more than needed. WCCA has been the only entity to demonstrate quantitative need for increased funding and certainly facilitates a much large aspect of the community. Unless the city manager see his way to increasing WCCA's share of the franchise revenue and capital, given the short term of the contract, it is highly possible the current level of services WCCA provides to the citizens of Worcester will be negatively impacted. The best thing to come out of the meeting, we felt, was the committee's recommended definition for "local programming": as any video production involving a person who is a citizen, student or employed in the city of Worcester. More to come.
Thanks for your suppport everyone. Stay tuned...

Telegram's Nick Kotsopoulos writes about contract delays affecting WCCA TV.

The city's re-review of data that really has been done has taken exceptionally too long. The ascertainment window, the time to assess community opened in 2004 and ended when the city entered formal negotiations with Charter Communications. Whatever the city was able to negotiated for is now available within the franchise license to meet the community needs. The city council asked, through the form of a motion, for the City Manager to have a contract signed with WCCA by the end of June. Is there no teeth or follow up to such motions ?

We are not sure what parameters the consulting attorney Jim Baller, was told to work on, we are sure, however, that there are many cities that have apparently acquired better franchise conditions to support their Public Access channel and PEG Channels. Especially when looking at cities as large or larger than Worcester.

Given our experience of this so called process and holding on to good faith, even as we try to set aside the fears of many concerned that there may be a possible pre determined agenda, we hope the Manager will give due consideration to the community needs assessment which provided a quantified demonstration highlighting a community need to support for WCCA without any decrease in funding or capital.

Either this city, the City Manager and the City Council wants the people's channel, an important and empowering community resource that fosters a free flow on information and free speech, to continue to flourish or it doesn't.

Thank you Nick for fair and informational piece.

"Good Faith" fun and frolics continued...

CAC members began to inform those present of their respective progress. Which, apparently, they seemed disappointed with. One member just got her list handed to her at that meeting ( she was absent from the previous meeting). Those who did the assignment seemed to all suggest that the answers they received were varied, vague, and they frankly did not see much that could be contributed from the poll. They later thought, however, that it may be a good idea to use what they had received and work out a plan to process the information. That decision came after WCCA and also members in the audience asked for copies of the poll CAC was looking at.

WCCA upon a very quick glance of the poll results, pointed out that it appeared many answers came from members of the Alliance for Community Media, and that CAC should not be surprised of the varied responses. Public Access environment is generally unique to the community it serves. Different communities have different needs, thus the varied answers. WCCA also pointed out that each city or town may subject to varied state franchise laws which will impact the answers and capacity of each center. The quest for such data is really a mute issue. As the city can only work within the parameters now based upon the agreement it has with the cable company. Unless there is plan to ask the Charter to kick in more to support our PEG channels. WCCA's shared it's position that point of ascertainment/assessment process is to determine community needs and base further negotiations or to bring such needs to the table. The window for ascertainment took place between 2004 and Jan 2007, before formal negotiations with Charter.

A community needs assessment would be applicable to the cable franchise license agreement or in formulating an agreement between the public access facility and the city. It would make sense if PEG assessment was done before entering into the formal negotiations with the cable company. That would be part of what is included in the negotiations. We reminded CAC that we are aware of hundreds of petitions, and previous reports that suggested increase funding and channel capacity for WCCA ,the public access component. We asked if the community voices on the subject counted for anything. We also wanted to know what happens with all the work CAC does? Does it go directly, unedited, to the city manager, is it filtered through additional advisers? Understandably, CAC did not want to speculate and answer. CAC members seemed to hope it counted for something. Apparently no one knows for sure. We do not believed this should be such a complicated matter. This is process that is guided by Fed and state law with an industry history that really spans about 30 years ( 22 years in Worcester) . It looks like there is an attempt to reinvent the wheel. Reinventing the wheel will not improve public access in Worcester. Comparing the second largest city in New England with some 50 plus thousand cable subscribers to towns with less than 10 thousand subscribers does not send the message of intent to assure increase capacity for PEG, redefining local programming and reducing it to a narrower definition, serves no positive purpose for PEG at this juncture. Atlanta GA, for example, has a fifteen year franchise with ten access channels thriving due to city encouragement. We see CAC members on a search on behalf of the city manager, to determine even the definition of "local programming", to see what other smaller communities are doing. We see a lot wheel spinning going on. It's nice to know such information, however, the process should really be based on community needs. Many have the impression the process now is more about something else. It is not apparent that something else is to meet community needs relative to Worcester's 22 year old and vital public access. If it is we wanted to know. We asked, how can we trust the needs of the community are making it way to the City Manager and best represented ? "Good Faith" was the answer.
We asked about the white elephant in the room, what is the status of the estimated $1.8 million dollar balance of un used cable funds the city has divided in an account for the government channel account and a separate Educational Channel accounts. We posed the question in the past and again at the last CAC meeting, which was not a quorum. More forms were passed out by the city's rep. We were then told it looks like all that money is now earmarked. WCCA then formally requested copies of the all the documents they were given by the city's government channel director/director of the city's cable division. The chair immediately distributed what copies they had available. We are waiting for additional Government and Educational Channel operational and Capital needs reports as I write this. We need more time to review these documents, but at a glance we learn:
1. That the cable funds are placed in an account labeled the government access account but serves as a holding account for "ALL CABLE funds" including PEG, administrative fees, and renewal offset funding. For the past twelve years of the previous license, the government access channel does not have an account of it's own.
2. WCCA is encumbered immediately from the account, yet we are paid in quarterly installments, any possible interest that may be generated from money intended for WCCA is not reflected. Other apparent government channel or related city cable expense distributions or categories are encumbered as requested.
3.The report seems incomplete it does not indicate any remaining amount committed to WCCA or for other possible commitments elsewhere.
4. The last page provides the government channel/city cable division budget for year 2008.
We noted that after ten years this is the first time we are seeing this after numerous request in past. We are not sure when these documents were produced.

It appears to us, as of 2008, on the revenue side in the city account the city brings forward a balance of roughly, $1.2 million added to Receipts ( we assume is the cable franchise fee) of $1.7 million reaching about $2.9 million. After we deduct a little over $1 million expenses which includes the government channel and WCCA's approximate $647K, there seems to be a balances of 1.9 million.
On the school access channel side, we see a balance forwarded of about $839K, after deducting their roughly $255k expenses, we see a remaining balance of more than $583K. So between the school account and the city's cable account there seems to be over $2.5 million. We pointed out that the city channel director stated that the city and school channel gets 20% each of the franchise, but the numbers did not seem to jive, we asked for clarification and received vague answers. The Education rep did not know about the balance and said he would look into it. One person in audience yelled out "it's a shell game". Members of WCCA asked for accountability. WCCA proposed to facilitate the three PEG channels. When we asked formally, again, for budget operation and capital reports from the city and school channel, one CAC member , referring to proposal WCCA had made offering to facilitate the three PEG channels, questioned the integrity of a Non-Profit facilitated PEG channel. We explained the many efficiencies of that proposal. We guess "Good Faith" only plays in one direction.

To be fare we need time to look deeper into the report. So far it raises a lot of questions. One page seems to contradict another. Supporters of WCCA were not happy campers at last nights meeting. CAC has given us the impression funds may be less, and that the city will taking funds to offset the next renewal, leaving less for WCCA. The amazing current capacity of WCCA is at risk. When it might not need to be. While all we get are vague answers when it comes to underutilized funds remaining in city accounts. This thing keeps dragging on. We wonder why there is so much confusion in the process. We are concerned why CAC seems to us to be spinning it's wheels, why is it that WCCA is and has been so scrutinized while it appears CAC now, after we raise the question, asks the city and the school to report on those balances.
This is all significant on many levels. To name two, with such large balance of funds remaining in the city accounts, implies there was never any need to contemplate a reduction in Capital or Operation funding for PEG. Especially for WCCA ,the public access center, which has been operating since 1986. It raises questions why the information relative to cable funds have not been made readily opened in the past. If we never asked would we have ever been told? "Good Faith" . For the record, the meeting was video taped by WCCA TV and will be posted on line soon.

City Manager's Cable Advisory Committee (CAC) had a quorum last night. They met in room 310 at City Hall. The following is our experience. We ( WCCA TV ) were not first to arrive. Three committee members were there with the representative of the the city govt channel 12, who is also representing the city manager, along with a member representing the WPS Educational channel 11 . As soon as the fourth CAC member arrived the meeting was called into order. The chair passed out an agenda to all who asked for one. A reporter form the T&G also was present.
Their task seemed to be to continue old business, which included to follow up on an assignment they had given themselves two weeks ago, which was to contact PEG access centers which they had on a pre-assembled list, to poll them concerning: The number of distinct PEG entities, How many PEG channels, What percentage of gross revs they receive, How are the revs divided to each entity, Other sources for PEG funds, What level of Capital funds they received and how it is divided up. They also sought answers to how each respondent would define "local programming", if they establish goals, if there are any limitations or restrictions to use of funds, who the LO is and how many subscribers they have.

In other words all the questions that we addressed and we believe CAC also addressed, or should have been addressed during the ascertainment / community assessment period that took place between 2004 and 2007. The franchise expired in Jan. 2007 and the city signed a renewed cable franchise, with a much shorter term, in Spring of 2008. WCCA's Public Access agreement, normally co-terminus with the cable franchise, is yet to be negotiated.

Yes, it did get a little testy.

Read More "Good Faith" fun and frolics

Thanks again to the many persons who have written editorials and letters to the city manager in support of WCCA TV.

Lately , many people have come up to me expressing something like "...Congratulations, WCCA is finally all set, you have a new contract..."

No, we do not have a new contract. We have an extension of what we had signed in 1997.

As the Executive Director of WCCA, my years of experience on the job, I know how much many of you sincerely care for the station, and have also dedicate a lot of your lives volunteering here at the station, I have a duty to clarify the situation.

City Manager O'Brien has executed an contract extension with WCCA that will expire in September, 2008, unless we first come to a long term agreement prior to its expiration.

What this means:
First of all, we at WCCA sincerely appreciate that the extension will allow WCCA to continue until September. The extension, however, does not address our dire equipment needs or the support we would need to meet the increase community demands for our services, that would be supported from the capital provisions that were written into Charter's license to support PEG.

In the mean time, the City Manager O'Brien is asking a citizens cable advisory to review WCCA's public access needs. They are reviewing the work that was primarily done during the cable franchise renewal ascertainment process ( from 2004- 2008 ). During that phase of the process, community and city groups called for increased funding and support for WCCA. The City Manager has recently asked the cable advisory to look at best practices, contract length or term, financial accountability and to recommend how to allocate funding and capital to support channels 11, 12 and 13. It seems the new concern is that the city now has a five year, instead of a ten year, commitment, from Charter to support the Worcester's PEG channels. It looks like Charter did well to leverage political support and consumer complaints to get the short term it wanted. I tried to warn the city about the risk associated with a short license term, however, it did little good. In fact, after reviewing the renewed cable franchise license, we are not sure how much, if anything, of the expressed community needs that came out of the recent ascertainment, actually made it to the negotiation table. I say this because it is pretty much the same franchise deal as in 1997 minus five years commitment of cable service for Worcester and PEG channel support, and about half of the senior discount, no PEG Broadband inclusion , no inclusion on the preview guide or channel ID, no additional county wide channel for WCCA, no additional channel set asides specifically of Public Access, for example. None of these benefits are found in the rewed license.

I am certain, it is a matter of generally accepted best practices, and most consultants would agree, that of the 5% Franchise Revenue a city recieves for PEG, the formula to support PEG breaks down as follows: 60% P (WCCA), 20%E (WPS channel), 20%G (Government channel). While channels 11 and12 serve city government and an arm of city government (WPS), WCCA serves the entire city including public initiatives, individuals, private schools, and enterprises and hundreds of non-profits (24/7). To diminish WCCA funding in the smallest amount would be contrary to best practices. All the PEG channels are valuable and deserve support for the important contribution they provide for our city. The opportunity to assure reasonable support may have been lost during ascertainment and proceeding negotiations. Would it be right and just if the needs of channels 11 and 12 were to be met at the expense of WCCA TV 13, after the city had invested 22 years in what has become a thriving model public access center, WCCA TV?

On May 27, the City Council had passed a motion asking the city manager to wrap up a long term contract with WCCA by the end of June.

On May 27 the cable advisory committee also met. Both Channel's 11 and 12 expressed that they would like to take a substantial portion of the funding that was traditionally allocated to WCCA, to apparently, basically, to replicate much of WCCA has been already doing since 1986. Many on WCCA's Board of Directors, and members, friends and I agree, believe that if the City Manager's Cable Advisory Committee recommends such a thing and the City Manager carries it out, that may rightly be perceived as out right thievery.

The real need the City Manager's cable committee should be addressing is what can the city do to make up for what it lost in the negotiations with Charter's cable contract other than to pit PEG against itself or tell us to go beg for it?

We will soon be coming forward with a proposal which may offer a realistic solution, which we hope the City Manager will take into consideration.

We learned that the cable advisory will be meeting on June 16 in room 310 at 5:30PM.

Please keep up your letters, phone calls, and all you are doing to support WCCA TV 13,"The People's Channel". You are WCCA TV.

Last night WCCA TV's Studio A was packed with members, supporters,and a least one City Councilor, Gary Rosen, to discuss their need for the future of WCCA's funding and to share their frustrations with the way city seems to be apparently handling the matter. The general membership and opened meeting was cable and web cast live on Channel 13 and wccatv.com.

A community of concerned citizens shared and expressed their questions, concerns, and shared their opinions wanting to know why this process is taking so long, after the city had already spent nearly four years in a public process that included substantial and detailed review of community media needs including that of WCCA TV. Many were also questioned and condemned of the Research Bureau apparent continued attacks on WCCA and other fine community resources such as the Senior Center (WCCA members who produce Senior Speak).
Following my update on the status of WCCA which included a communication relative to the city manager needing more time to re-review the four year community assessment process, which has also appeared in todays Telegram, Community members shared dynamic and passionate views asking the City Manager, through City Councilor Rosen, to step up the pace so WCCA TV operations, which is in dire need of new equipment and building upgrades, can properly move forward with it's charitable mission to provide for public access community media needs and to build community through electronic media while making community empowering communication resources available ona non-discriminatory basis.

I want to thank ALL who time to attend the meeting last night. Your comments were stunning, eloquent, articulate, and direct. People of all ages, a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds and ethnic heritage, came together in a unified spirit. The meeting demonstrated, without argument, that there is a strong community need, care and concern for the continuation of WCCA TV and for the city administration and city council to make assurances to ensure WCCA TV's capacity for increased growth to meet community media needs in all platforms of communication technology.

Those who attended last night's cable cast meeting, and also those who had written support letters, editorials, sent a strong message that you care and that WCCA is important to you. Your message has been well noted and will remain documented and archived on tape and on line for the record, the people's record. Keep it up. Will our efforts to call attention to saving public access be fruitful? That remains to be seen. Thanks for your continued patience.

WCCA will also be re-cable casting the meeting soon. Stay tuned for the new program schedule.

EVERYONE in this city knows WCCA TV is important and should be supported. Either this empowering community resource is nurtured or it is compromised. What does that mean to YOU ?
Thanks for your support.
Wormtowntaxi writes more on the subject.

Photo by Jeff Barnard

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, PEOPLE OF WORCESTER.

Last night, March 19th, WCCA met with members of the city council's Public Service and Transportation Committee to discuss WCCA's operational and capital needs for the next five years.

Councilors Joe Petty, Gary Rosen and William Eddy were very receptive and expressed their support for WCCA. Gary Rosen passionately expressed that he hopes to be joined by all his colleagues on the council in a call for assurances to ensure WCCA will continue the valuable level of service and to meet future community media needs.

Congratulations to YOU, Worcester. Thanks to the people and organizations of Worcester for the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement you have given to WCCA TV over the past years. You have have helped us with your letters, editorials, post cards, petitions, attendance at cable meetings, and your many phone calls to city leaders. Because of your efforts, the city was able to negotiate a decent contract with Charter. The city will soon be receiving the funding and capital needed to continue WCCA TV's public access mission.

Now WCCA's funding and its future lies in the hands of City Manager Michael O'Brien. It is up to him to allocate funding pursuant to YOUR needs as ascertained by the city. YOU have spoken at those public hearings and through YOUR letters, before the PS&T and Cable Advisory committees. Both Committees echoed your request for increased funding, equipment capital and additional channel for WCCA TV “The People's Channel”, YOUR VISION TELEVISION. The city has been sensitive to all of our voices and, so far, to the needs of public access.

Your continued support is more vital now than ever. Please continue those calls and letters to our councilors and the City Manager.

Stay alert for upcoming public hearings regarding the future of WCCA. Sign up for our WCCA mailing list. Together, we may be able to convince the Manager to see to it that WCCA sustains at least the current level of service and community productions. We must press on together. That is what makes this truly "the people's channel".

Sincerely on behalf of the Volunteers, Community Producers, Interns, KidsNet/Youth Channel Students, Community Board, and Staff, Thank you.
Mauro DePasquale