Funding for community television pits Metro versus Comcast

Jude Ferrara (SouthComm) 

The continuing back-and-forth between Metro government and cable giant Comcast is escalating over city officials’ desire to increase their share of funds collected on monthly cable bills to improve the quality of community television programming. 

Early media reports on the ongoing franchise negotiations between the city and the nation’s largest cable provider set off a backlash, with skeptics questioning the wisdom of one item: Raising a 5-cent fee charged to cable subscribers each time they pay their bills to as high as 65 cents. Metro officials have said the purpose would be to invest in enhancements of community television — from Metro Council and school board meetings to programming like the Jesse Goldberg Show. 

Critics have lined up, characterizing the plan as a “tax increase” they say could become a campaign issue in the weeks leading up to the Aug. 4 local elections. 

The storyline — advanced by Comcast — has left Metro officials, led by Metro Information Technology Director Keith Durbin, on the defensive and trying to reintroduce the city’s position, which he attempted during last week’s council budget hearings. 

Metro, in fact, has not drawn a line in the sand on a final proposal or a desired allocation increase, he insists. Rather, with the help of a sophisticated public relations operation, Comcast is painting a picture that works to the corporation’s advantage and against the city, Durbin said. 

“What has been portrayed by Comcast through their PR work is that we are being unreasonable in demanding this top-tier escalation, which is absolutely not the case,” Durbin told The City Paper. “We’re looking to improve on what has been offered thus far, and we’ve reached the point where we’re getting no traction.” 

The issue of providing additional dollars to public education and government (PEG) programming has found the spotlight as Metro and Comcast work to renew a new long-term franchise contract agreement before next spring (a one-year extension was granted in May). Among a host of issues discussed is PEG — community television programming that has long been a trade of sorts with the taxpayers for allowing companies like Comcast to run cable lines on publicly owned rights of way. Metro has four community stations: Metro3 and channels 9, 10 and 19, geared for arts, education and community access, respectively. 

Since 1995, a nickel from every Comcast cable bill in Davidson County — amounting to $100,000 each year — has gone to community television programming. That’s no longer sufficient, Durbin said. Arguing that Nashville lags behind other municipalities in PEG sophistication and equipment, Durbin and Metro want that monthly nickel to increase to pay for advancements, such as high-definition capabilities. At minimum, he said Metro is seeking $144,000 per year to account for modern expenses and inflation. 

Comcast officials have said they would agree to a 32 percent increase of PEG dollars, which would put Metro’s collection at $132,000 per year (and would up ratepayer contributions from 5 cents to 6.6 cents a month). But Comcast has taken exception to a Metro-issued PEG improvement wishlist that would sharply increase PEG support from five cents on every bill to as high as 65 cents. The list adds up to $3.88 million over a three-year period. In its PR effort, Comcast has labeled it a 1,200 percent increase over the current PEG support, though it would only add 60 cents to one’s cable bill. 

Durbin told The City Paper he’s made it “abundantly clear” to Comcast that this topped-out increase is a just a “holding figure,” and that there are no intentions to request this level of funding. He said what’s been presented to Comcast was not a formal proposal but a document detailing needs. He also pointed out that state law allows Metro to receive as much as 1 percent of Comcast’s total gross revenues. 

“We haven’t reached a negotiation point yet,” Durbin said. “We understand very much that the number we arrive at is going to be somewhere below that 1 percent.” 

But John Gauder, market vice president for Comcast in Middle Tennessee, has interpreted the jump from a 5-cent to 65-cent PEG fee as a proposal. 

“We’ve received no other proposal from Metro IT other than a 1,200 percent increase that was supported by a document that we requested to show how that funding would be spent,” Gauder said last week. “Until these last few days, we have not heard anything different in these discussions other than a 1,200 percent increase.” 

Durbin said desired upgrades include control room and camera equipment, and modernizing the PEG studio and mayor’s media room. He also said Metro needs to digitalize its studio cameras. One possibility that has drawn scrutiny is upgrading cameras for programming — including council and commission meetings — in high definition. 

“We’re looking at what we would need to fund and maintain eight, nine, 10 years from now,” Durbin said. “Who can say eight, nine, 10 years from now that HD won’t be the minimum standard? However, if it comes back from the general public that Metro Council meetings in HD, the PEG studio in HD is not high on people’s list — we’ve got our professional opinion, but at the end of the day that has to be tempered with what our citizens want us to spend money on.” 

Metro has tapped The Buske Group, a consultant firm that specializes in cable franchise agreements, to solicit community input on the needs of PEG programming through online and phone surveys and five community meetings held in May. Citizens can also express their opinions June 30 at the Howard School Building before a Metro committee that will recommend a final proposal. 

Helping make Comcast’s case to council members are attorney James Weaver and public relations specialist Joe Hall, both registered lobbyists and prominent in their fields. 

Comcast recently conducted a phone survey of 500 of its customers and reported that viewership of PEG stations ranged from as low as 6 percent for the three education, community and arts stations, to 62 percent for Metro3. The poll found on a weekly basis, 10 percent of respondents watch Employee Benefit Board meetings and 17 percent watch council meetings. Ninety-three percent of those who took part graded their satisfaction with PEG as a “C” or higher, with 32 percent wanting more programming. The survey found 78 percent are unwilling to pay what was worded as a 1,200 percent PEG-fee increase. 

“Through talking to our customers, it’s been clear to us that they’re happy with what they have today,” Gauder said. “They’re not looking for any additional types of programming, and they’re certainly not looking for it in high definition, and they’re not willing to pay significantly more for it.” 

The final arbiters on Comcast’s franchise agreement will be the newly elected Metro Council, which must approve a new franchise agreement. The early take on a PEG-fee hike has produced two basic responses. 

“I’m going to oppose it,” Councilman Robert Duvall said. “Some of the equipment may be necessary for the studio, but I think we need to find a way to fund it out of our capital expenditures. We don’t need to add more taxes to the people. That’s all it is. We’re nickel and diming them to death every time they turn around.” 

But At-large Councilman Ronnie Steine called Comcast’s focus on a potential 65-cent PEG fee a “scare tactic.” He said no one believes or supports the idea of having an increase to that scale, but Comcast has turned to the “extreme” to build a case. 

“Clearly, the folks that are negotiating with [Comcast] are just throwing things out on the table at this point for discussion,” Steine said. “To take that to the level of trying to scare the community seems to me to be bit unfair at this point in time.” 

Steine also pointed out Comcast’s contribution to PEG has remained stagnant for 16 years, though the cable company has continued to thrive in Nashville. He said Comcast has had rate increases during that period, none of which contributed to PEG programming. Comcast would not provide a list of all fee increases going back to 1995, as requested by The City Paper. 

“It seems to me only fair,” Steine said of increasing Comcast’s contribution to PEG. He said it could be done without affecting the company’s bottom line or inordinately charging ratepayers. “Comcast has been such a good community citizen in so many ways that it just surprises me that they seem to be recalcitrant at the moment.”