Are Jersey City residents getting all they can from their local cable TV provider? This is one of the many questions local officials and residents will start asking this month as the city begins to evaluate its current franchise agreement with Comcast.
In 1998, the city signed a 15-year local franchise agreement with Comcast to supply cable service to Jersey City residents. This agreement expires May 13, 2013, but the city is required by law to file a report this May 13 that evaluates Comcast’s service and details the future cable needs of residents. This report will be filed with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
As a first step in this process, the city is asking residents to come to a special public hearing at City Hall on Wednesday, March 21 at 6 p.m. Residents will be asked to discuss their experiences with Comcast and which services they’d like to see from their local cable provider in the future.
More than a few residents will probably express an interest in seeing a greater penetration of Verizon’s FIOS network, which already has a franchise agreement with the state of New Jersey and is not required to negotiate agreements with individual cities. Thus, residents can avoid Comcast and subscribe to Verizon, but only if the neighborhood has been wired with the company’s fiber optic technology.
While Jersey City could grant another long-term franchise agreement to Comcast, city officials might try to get services and other commitments from the company that were not included in the 1998 contract.
One sticking point could be whether the city is able to keep channel one, known as Jersey City 1 TV, a station dedicated to municipal government meetings and city news. A city official said that Comcast may want the channel back.
On March 21 residents will be asked to discuss their experiences with Comcast.
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Cable concessions
Despite its size, Jersey City was one of the last cities in New Jersey to get cable service, according to City Clerk Robert Byrne. He estimated that the city signed its first cable franchise agreement with Comcast in the late 1980s. For decades, the company was the only cable game in town.
“When we renegotiated the contract in 1998 we negotiated for a PEG (public education and government) channel, and that is Jersey City 1,” said Byrne. “We want to hang on to Jersey City 1 because we have a brand. But Comcast wants to capture [channel one] for its own purposes. So, this is guaranteed to be an issue in this renegotiation.”
Jersey City 1, also known as JC 1 TV, broadcasts the city’s public meetings, the show “Teen Talk,” and cultural events across the city. While some residents have been critical of the narrow range of programming, most seem to agree that residents should have access to a municipal channel for Jersey City issues.
Jersey City 1 TV is only available to Comcast customers and cannot be accessed by Verizon, DirecTV, or Dish Network customers.
Under its 1998 agreement with the city, Comcast also agreed to provide equipment, training, and support to get JC 1 up and running.
Since Comcast uses public infrastructure – such as utility poles – and public right of ways for its equipment, it pays the city a 2 percent fee from its annual gross revenues from local subscribers. Last year Jersey received approximately $626,000 in fees from Comcast, Byrne said.
The city also received about $550,000 in fees from Verizon, which has been building its fiber optic FIOS network in Jersey City over the last few years.
New player could affect community demands
According to Byrne, there are only a limited number of circumstances that would allow the city to deny a franchise renewal to Comcast: if the company hasn’t complied with its 1998 agreement; if Comcast’s service is poor; if Comcast lacks the financial or legal capacity to deliver service in the future; or if the company is unable to meet the future needs of the community.
Given Verizon’s penetration of the Jersey City market, some residents might argue that it is better suited to meet the needs and interests of the community – particularly in the area of WiFi service. The city could theoretically make a franchise agreement with Verizon, but only if the city can meet the criteria to deny Comcast a renewal.
“Until Verizon came along, the people of Jersey City had no choice for cable television,” Byrne said. “Now at least they have a choice. But Verizon didn’t come to the communities. It went to the state and got a statewide franchise.”
In 2006 the state legislature approved a law that allowed companies to seek statewide cable franchise licenses from Trenton, rather than having to get these licenses from individual municipalities. The measure – which was signed into law by then-Gov. Jon Corzine and was specifically written to help Verizon – streamlines the cable franchise approval process. But critics maintain that it allows companies to bypass local governments and limits the amount of local programming available to customers.
This fact, cable companies argue, is proof that communities are more likely to have their local needs met by them rather than Verizon.
“Local franchising works. It has been an effective method for communities to work with providers to ensure that local cable-related needs and interests are addressed,” said Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander. “The process is time-proven and it allows all parties to sit at the table with each other and discuss matters that are meaningful to the local area.”
Comment at www.hudsonreporter.com. E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.