One day last fall a state regulator made a surprise visit to a Cox Communications office designated by the state as a public access television studio.
When Thomas Ahern, administrator of the Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, walked into the building he wasn’t happy.
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”There was nothing there. The equipment that should have been there was in a studio in Southeastern Massachusetts,” Ahern said.
Cox officials later said the studio’s equipment was in the process of being replaced and it was merely coincidence that Ahern visited during that time.
Ahern said it wasn’t the first instance in which Cox public access obligations have come into question.
”I think the cable company has done a fair job in getting public access studios up to speed in respect to equipment. But do they do a good job in all of the dozen studio locations? The simple answer is no they don’t,” Ahern said. “There were studios closed, shut down and equipment wasn’t available.”
That’s one reason his department has hired a consultant to conduct a six-phase study into how cable companies administer public access television in Rhode Island.
Other common complaints made about Cox – which serves 92 percent of the state – include that the communications giant doesn’t properly man or equip some of its nine studios, puts restrictions on people interested in producing a public access program and doesn’t train or promote the service.
Cox administrators defended its operations, saying Rhode Island benefits from having more public access studios per square mile than any state in the country. The cable company also believes that critics of how cable access is run are in the minority and the reason public access is not a bigger enterprise is the lack of enthusiasm for the outlet by subscribers.
Cox touts its two, successful statewide public service channels and adds that the public access programming in the city of Pawtucket has been praised by the state as well as critics.
Whatever side you’re on it’s obvious the problems revert back to the original agreements among the state and cable companies two decades ago.
The first mistake critics say was Rhode Island’s decision to leave the administration of public access up to the cable provider while the most common approach is for individual cities and towns to have cable committees that oversee the operation or non-profit groups do so.
”Clearly the debate is whether we are better off in having a cable company provide access or should we have a quasi-government agency monitoring and providing public access,” said Ahern, who joined the public agency a year and a half ago.
He said there hasn’t been an uproar by communities to turn control over to them. Concerns have instead come from several users of public access as well as the American Civil Liberties Union.
John Wolfe, vice president of public and governmental affairs for Cox, suggested that those complaining about the service have an agenda, which could include their desire to run cable access through a non-profit organization.
”I am saying there are individuals trying very hard to create a perception that there is a problem with public access. I question their motives and I also think that the individuals’ opinions don’t represent people as a whole in the state,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe added that the state review is supported by his company.
”We will do whatever we have to do to work with the state’s legitimate public access concerns,” he said.
Ahern said defining legitimate problems and correcting them, as well as updating the 16-year-old public access regulations, will be the task before William August, a well known cable industry consultant hired by the DPU&C.
While the first phase of the consultant’s report isn’t due back until March, the public as well as Cox will get a chance during a public hearing on February 11 to offer input on establishing rules for public access users.
Cable’s place in Rhode Island
In the 1960s there were 13 franchise areas created for cable services, each with its own cable provider. Today nine of those franchise agreements are owned by Cox. The remaining franchise areas are split between Full Channel, Media One, and Block Island Cable TV.
Providing public access is a common requirement for cable companies throughout the country. What isn’t common in the Rhode Island agreement with cable is that the cable company runs the public access program.
”This is the only state east of the Mississippi where all public access is controlled by the cable company, which has a fairly strong financial incentive that it (public access) doesn’t work,” said Michael Barr, an active public access producer and critic of Cox.
He said cable companies would rather create channels that are revenue producing. Barr added that cable would also save personnel and equipment costs by not having a strong public access channel.
Barr said the public loses control of their “own channel” by having a private company running it.
The majority of states give control to cable committees in cities and towns or non-profit public access programs are set up. In those cases, the cable companies pay a franchise fee, ranging from 3-5 percent of the providers’ gross revenues, that support the cable committees.
Bunnie Riedel, executive director of The Alliance for Community Media, a national group committed to assuring the public’s access to electronic media, said the Ocean State’s cable agreement is pro-cable.
”A cable company running public access is a bad situation and it will always be a bad situation for community cable,” she said. “When cable runs public access it often becomes anemic because there is no interest by the cable company to ensure the health of public access.”
”Cable is simply doing it because they have to do it. When that is the case you shouldn’t expect good results,” she added.
Riedel said Rhode Island officials should have pushed for what federal laws allow them to get from cable operates. That includes the 3-5 percent franchise fees as well as funds to buy equipment for public access.
”It just seems to be a crazy situation over there. As a minimum the state should be getting $6 million a year from a franchise fee that is remarkably not available in Rhode Island,” she said.
State officials’ estimate that the state would get at a minimum $3.1 million, but that was taking into account a three percent franchise fee and an average cable bill of $20 – $15 lower than the average used by Riedel. Even then the $3.1 million a year is roughly double the $1.5 Cox officials say they spend on public access.
”Let’s say we did go for the $3.1 million. That means it would double the expense and that money will certainly not come from the cable company, but it will come from subscribers. I don’t think that would be a prudent management decision,” Ahern said.
Wolfe went so far as to say that at this point rate payers don’t even pay for the $1.5 million for public access.
”The way that it is set up in Rhode Island we absorb the cost of public access as an operating expense. We don’t pass the cost on to the customers,” he said.
Ahern said that is not necessarily true.
”At some point in time the cable subscriber pays for the cost of public access. I don’t know what (Wolfe) is saying,” Ahern said.
Part of the unusual agreement with the state and cable is the fact that the agreement never expires.
”Our state is the only one in the country that grants cable operators life-long licenses – rather than 10 to 15 year contracts that afford communities considerable leverage in negotiating the renewals of those contracts,” Barr said.
He said without that leverage it has been impossible for the state to get newer equipment or increased service for public access from Cox.
Ahern disagreed.
”I think if there was an expiration date Cox would do nothing to enhance its network until it was time to re-negotiate the franchise, rather than upgrading as the innovations come along,” he said.
Wolfe said Rhode Island is lucky to have such an agreement.
”Yes, this is a bit uncommon, but that has worked to benefit Rhode Island. When there is a defined term typical improvements don’t happen until the license is re-negotiated,” he said.
Cox in other states
Cox Communications is the fifth largest cable company in the country, serving more than four million customers nationwide. Its largest service areas are in Arizona, San Diego and New England.
The Providence Business News contacted two dozen communities that have Cox cable services. Of the seven communities to respond all of them show how drastically different Rhode Island is in comparison.
All seven of the communities have an expiration on their franchise agreement, ranging from 10 to 20 years. All of them charge a franchise fee, with the majority of the communities receiving 5 percent of the annual revenues earned by Cox in their area.
Also, none of the communities have Cox running their public access.
”Franchise fees are logical considering a city is giving the cable company the right-of-way to use property,” said David Bradley, management/budget analyst for the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Bradley said his city collects a 5 percent franchise fee and last year received $3 million from Cox. The number of customers Cox serves in Virginia Beach is less than half of those served in Rhode Island.
In Tucson, Arizona, the city got $1.9 million in franchise fees last year that supported public access, including two channels used by the city and another five stations run apart from the city and Cox.
”We did not want Cox or the city involved with the five public access channels. That was important. Today the access channels are very active, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Steve Postil, telecommunications administrator for Tucson.
Public access or private access?
Examples of why a private cable company should be left out of what is supposed to be a public program are many, say critics of Cox in Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union has written the state on several occasions opposing a list of rules and regulations given to public access users by Cox.
”The ‘rules and guidelines’ themselves appear to have been drafted for the convenience of the cable operator rather than to promote and facilitate public access opportunities for the people of the state,” Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate, wrote in a letter to Ahern.
The ACLU opposed Cox’s requirements that public access users have a minimum of five crew members, that the shows be either exactly 30 minutes or 60 minutes long and that Cox have 14 days before airing the program.
He said the required number of crew members limits smaller groups from taking part in public access. Brown added that the time limits are nearly impossible for productions like religious sermons or educational lessons.
The two-week delay in airing a program becomes a problem when people want a produce a show that involves current or newsworthy events.
Critics of the rules are also angry that the rules were distributed to public access users without going to a public hearing, which will be the purpose of the Feb. 11 meeting.
Wolfe said the rules were created so every studio they have had the same guidelines to follow. He said the rules look out for other public access producers who might lose studio time because of others who are not well organized.
Riedel of The Alliance for Community Media said the three rules cited above do appear impractical, but are not unheard of.
“If they are doing it because of scheduling reasons then it is fairly reasonable. But, if there is no back-up of shows to be aired I do question the cable company’s reasoning behind it,”Riedel said.
Ahern believes that the public access programs are not exactly piling up at Cox and said that might have to do with the lack of publicity for the service.
”I’m concerned about the cable company’s efforts to stimulate a vigorous public access environment, among other things. That is another reason for the review we are supporting,” he said. “I think at some point in time the public access users and the ACLU would have demanded such a review take place.”
Ahern said the excuse that public access isn’t thriving because people are not aware of it will no longer be an excuse.
Ahern added that the answer might be to close most of the nine Cox studios in order to use finances to stock maybe four or five studios with the finest equipment.
He said along with working on the rules and regulations for public access with Cox, his office will be the place to appeal problems that arise between Cox and public access users.
Ahern said it is also important for the state to look elsewhere to find out what it might be missing.
”Another significant job ahead of us is to establish the level of service being provided and use that level as a benchmark, which we can compare to other jurisdictions and compare to future progress,” he said.
”I have had several meetings with Cox and I feel optimistic they are going to work with us in providing the services the public wants,” Ahern said.
