HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 CertifCableTV Regulation (2)
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CITY OF DUBLIN
AGENDA STATEMENT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: September 13, 1993
SUBJECT:
Certification for the purposes of Cable Television Regulation
DO (Prepared by: Bo Barker, Management Assistant)
EXHIBITS ATTACHED: I"iacom's Channel Line Up
RECOMMENDATION:~liberate on the merits of rate regulation of cable television and direct
staff appropriately.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT: If directed to apply for certification, the City will incur increased staff
costs associated with administering the regulatory process. The initial phase of certification and the
development of local regulations can be minimized by cooperating with neighboring cities. The exact
amount of staff time needed to administer rate applications is currently unknown.
DESCRIPTION: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has recently distributed the
regulations related to the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992.
Accordingly, the City is now faced with developing policies related to the Cable Television Act.
The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 allows local governments
(franchising authorities) to implement regulations regulating rates for basic service tiers and establish
customer service standards. The first and most significant step is to determine if the City of Dublin
wishes to apply for certification in order to become a regulating agency.
If the City does not apply for certification, the FCC will only regulate cable television basic tier rates if
the City can show that it is unable to do so. In determining an agency's ability to regulate, the FCC
,would likely look at the franchise fees received by the agency. If the City does not file for certification,
it is possible that the FCC may not choose to regulate basic rates in Dublin due to its current work load
priorities and the fact that Dublin's Franchise Fees would cover the cost of rate regulation.
The actions required. for certification and associated impacts are presented below.
Certification
In order to qualify as a regulating agency, the franchising authority (city) must complete a simple
certification form and submit it to the FCC no earlier than September 1, 1993. (There is no deadline by
which certification requests must be made). Within 120 days of filing for certification, the City must
adopt local regulations which adopt standards consistent with the FCC regulations. The Cable
operator must also be notified of these actions.
Impacts of Certification
1) Increased. staff time. There would be additional staff time required to implement
regulations and administer rate applications. The initial certification process and the
adoption of the regulations would be the most time consuming phase of the process.
This will impact other responsibilities assigned to the Administrative Services
Department.
The costs for developing regulations could be reduced substantially by combining
resources with Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Ramon. San Ramon will be seeking
certification, while, Pleasanton and Livermore are considering the situation
concurrently with Dublin.
2) The main focus of the Cable Act applies to the regulation of rates. The Cable Act
addresses rate regulation by dividing service levels into different "tiers.". Viacom, as
with most cable operators, has divided its services into three service tiers.
1) The Basic Tier.
2) The Satellite Value Package Tier.
COPIES TO: Michal Houston, Viacom Cablevison
CITY CLERK
FILE ~
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3) Premium channels, and pay per view Tier.
If certified., the City would have direct ability to respond to citizen concerns related to
cable rates for the Basic Tier and an indirect ability to impact the Satellite Value Package
Tier. The Pay per View and Pay per Channel Tier would continue to be unregulated.
The law presumes that natural market forces would self-regulate these services. A
complete list of Viae om's channel line-up indicating which tier the different channels
fall under is attached as Exhibit 1.
For increase in rate for the basic service tier, Viacom would submit rate applications
to the City for approval. Under the law, Viacom would need to show that the per
channel charge meets the benchmark rates established by the FCC. Moreover, the
Cable Act requires Viacom to submit specific information regarding costs of service,
equipment and installation charges. This specific information will enable the City to
have the greatest impact on future rate increases.
Under the Cable Act, the FCC would regulate the Satellite Value Package Tier. Since
the Basic Tier is regulated by the City, Viacom may likely base charges for the
Satellite Value Package Tier on the same per channel costs. Thus, it is anticipated
that the City, as a certified regulating agency, may have an indirect impact on a this
Tier of service as well.
3) The City could establish customer service standards
Conclusion
The items listed. above represent the main impacts of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and
Competition Act of 1992. The decision whether to seek certification is the first issue with which to take
action. Consequently, other issues related to the bill such as fines, refunds and items related to the
rate regulation process are not explained. If staff is directed to seek certification, the City Council will
be presented with a comprehensive report, detailing additional issues and adopting regulations.
Recommendation: The City Council deliberate and provide direction to staff regarding whether the
City should become involved in cable television rate regulation and to participate with adjacent cities
in the certification process to reduce costs of administration.
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Viacom's Cable Lineup
Channel
Channel Title
0*= Playboy TV (5p- 3a)
0 California Channel (l1a - 4p)
1 The Movie Channel
2 KTVU - 2
3* The Disney Channel
4 KRON - 4
5 KPIX - 5
6 KICU - 36
7 KGO - 7
8* HBO
9 KQED - 9
10* Showtime
11 KDTV -14
12 KBHK - 44
13 KOFY - 20
14+ ESPN
15+ Nickelodeon
16+* SportsChannel
17+ CNN
18+ TNT
19+ Arts & Entertainment
20+ USA
21+ MTV
22+ Lifetime
23 KCNS - 38
24 KSTS - 48
25 KTEH - 54
26 KTSF - 26
27= Viewers Choice (11a - 4a)
27 C - SPAN 2 (4a -l1a)
28 TBS
29 KFCB - 42
30 Viacom 30 (Community TV)
31 KPST - 66
32+ CNBC (5a- Sp)
32+ C- SPAN (Sp - Sa)
33+ TNN - The Nashville Network
34+ American Movie Classics
35+ VH1 (5a - Sp)
35+ Comedy Central ( Sp - Sa)
36+ Discovery Channel ( 9a - 3a)
36+ QVC Fashion Channel (3a - 9a)
37+ QVC
*
Basic Tier Channel
Satellite Value Package Tier
Premium Channel Tier
Premium during Games
Pay- Per-View
(No Mark)
+
+*
=
Exhibit 1