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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd. #71, Second Series - Franchise Ordinance Amendment ORDINANCE #71, Second Series CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT The City of Centerville(the"City") ordains as follows: Section 1. Section 2.4, entitled"Franchise Term" of the City's Cable Television Franchise Ordinance (Ord. #73), shall be amended as follows: 4. Franchise Term. Pursuant to the Franchise Settlement Agreement dated December 17,2014,this Franchise shall be in effect throu December 31, 2020 , eeffifneneing ., the E ff etive Poe s eeif oa i See fi,,, 2.1 0, unless sooner renewed, revoked or terminated as herein provided. Section 2. The following shall be added to the end of Section 6.1.2 of the City's Cable Television Franchise Ordinance: Upon 90 days' notice, Grantee will cam one of the PEG channels in a high definition (HD) format on the cable system such that the City will continue to have 6 PEG Channels; 5 carried in standard definition and 1 carried in high definition. The City represents that it has or will have available by that date sufficient local, non-character generated programming in HD format so as to provide content of value to viewers and not have a blank channel. Any time after December 16, 2015, Grantee will carry an additional PEG channel in high definition in the same manner as the first high definition channel, such that the City will continue to have 6 PEG Channels; 4 carried in standard definition and 2 carried in high definition. Grantee will deliver the high definition signal to subscribers so that it is viewable without degradation, provided that it is not required to deliver a HD PEG Channel at a resolution higher than the highest resolution used in connection with the delivery of local broadcast signals to the public. Grantee may implement HD carriage of the PEG channel in any manner (including selection of compression, utilization of IP, amount of system capacity or bandwidth, and other processing characteristics) that produces a signal as accessible, functional, useable and of a quality comparable (meaning indistinguishable to the viewer) to broadcast HD channels carried on the cable system. The HD PEG Channel will be assigned a number near the other high definition local broadcast stations if such channel positions are not already taken, or if that is not possible, near high definition news/public affairs programming channels if such channel positions are not already taken, or if not possible, as reasonably close as available channel numbering will allow. City acknowledges that HD programming may require the viewer to have special viewer equipment (such as an HDTV and an HD-capable digital device/receiver), but any subscriber who can view an HD signal delivered via the cable system at a receiver shall also be able to view the HD PEG channel at that receiver, without additional charges or equipment. By agreeing to make PEG available in HD format, Grantee is not agreeing it may be required to provide free HD equipment to customers including complimentary municipal and educational accounts and universal service accounts, nor modify its equipment or pricing_policies in any manner. City acknowledges that not every customer may be able to view HD PEG programming (for example, because they don't have an HDTV in their home or have chosen not to take an HD capable receiving device from Grantee or other equipmentprovider) or on every TV in the home. Grantee will provide a bill message announcing the launch of the HD PEG channel, however City acknowledges that not all customers may receive the bill message notice in advance of the channel launch in the interests of launching the channel sooner. Grantee will make available to the City the ability to place PEG channel programming information on the interactive channeligu de by putting the City in contact with the electronic programing_guide vendor ("EPG provider") that provides the guide service. Grantee will be responsible for providing the designations and instructions necessary to ensure the channels will appear on the programming_guide throughout the jurisdictions that are part of the City and any necessary headend costs associated therewith. The City shall be responsible for providing programming information to the EPG provider and for any costs the EPG provider charges to programmers who participate in its service. This obligation shall not apply to any PEG channels for which there is a technical impediment to providing_guide listings, for example, in the event a PEG channel is narrowcasted or split among more than one PEG programmer or source such that not all viewers see the same programming on that channel. Section 3. This Ordinance shall be effective upon the acceptance of Comcast of Minnesota, Inc. 2 Passed and adopted this ' t day of 52015. CITY OF ( en r✓dle— Its: Its: ACCEPTED: This Cable Television Franchise Ordinance Amendment is accepted and we agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. COMCAST OF MINNESOTA, INC. Dated: By: Its: 3 CITY OF CENTERVILLE ANOKA COUNTY, MINNESOTA ORDINANCE #71, Second Series AN ORDINANCE FOR SUMMARY OF PUBLICATION. Notice is hereby given,that on the 28th day of January,2015, Ordinance#71, Second Series, entitled"CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE ORDINANCE AMENDMENT", was adopted by the City Council of Centerville,Minnesota. Notice is further given that due to the lengthy nature of the ordinance, the City Council has directed that this title and summary be prepared for publication pursuant to Minn. Stat. 412.191, Subd. 4. Notice is further given that a complete printed copy of the ordinance is available for inspection by any person during normal business hours of the City Clerk, 1880 Main Street, Centerville, MN, or will be mailed to anyone requesting it by telephone (651)429-3232. Notice is further given that the general purpose of the ordinance is to amend the cable franchise agreement granting the consent to the transfer of control of the cable franchise and cable television system from Comcast Corporation to Greatland Connections, Inc. Notice is further given that the Council has by a minimum 4/5 vote approved this public notice on the 28th day of January, 2015. Teresa Bender, City Clerk Published in the Quad Press on February 10, 2015