692,324 @ 11:59 am
One of our faithful readers texted this to us:
Where Is Mobile's Public Access Channel?
http://www.theharbinger.org/xvii/980922/brasell.html
by R. Bruce BrasellIf you subscribe to Comcast Cablevision in Mobile you know that Channel 6, which goes by the tag line "Port City 6," carries local programming. For example, one can watch a BayBears game on the channel instead of driving to Hank Aaron Stadium. At first I thought this was Mobile's public access channel but was confused because almost every show on the channel contains commercials or has a commercial sponsor. So I watched the channel for a week to confirm my suspicions, and sure enough the only shows on the channel that did not have commercial tie-ins were six religious shows. Even the community bulletin board charges. (See Exhibit 1.) The channel appears to be a lease channel, not a public access one.
A lease access channel rents air time for a fee. Because I was uncertain I called Comcast to find out for sure. I talked first with Wade Ford, the lease access coordinator, and then Steve Thomas, the production manager. They both informed me that channel 6 was indeed a lease access channel, not a public one. When I inquired if even the religious shows lease time, because they were the only ones without a commercial sponsor or commercials, Steve Thomas informed me that they do. So if Channel 6 is a lease access channel, then where is Mobile's public access channel?
In order for a cable company to operate in a particular area it must obtain a franchise from the local governing body, in our case the Mobile City Council. Because cable companies need access to public rights of way, local governments have become the primary regulators of the cable industry in the United States through the issuance of franchise agreements. Franchise agreements also typically establish rates and terms of services. (In Mobile, the cable company is required by the franchise agreement to charge its subscribers a "fair and reasonable" rate.) In effect, the franchise agreement grants the cable operator a monopoly over a specific geographical area.
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