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Taunton commission authorizes attorney to press Comcast for PEG channel upgrades and higher capital fee
Summary
At a March meeting, the Taunton Cable Commission discussed Comcast’s offer to upgrade public, educational and government (PEG) channels from standard definition to SDI in exchange for a higher capital fee and authorized commission counsel to pursue the proposal with the company.
The Taunton Cable Commission on March (date not specified) authorized its attorney to pursue a revised franchise offer from Comcast that would upgrade the city’s three PEG channels to SD-SDI and raise the commission’s capital share of cable revenues.
The commission’s authorization follows a proposal from Comcast to improve channel quality and increase capital funding. Under the proposal discussed, Comcast would upgrade the three PEG channels from standard definition (SD) to SD-SDI and would raise the commission’s capital allocation from 0.25% of gross revenues to 0.45%. Commission members said the operating allocation (about 4% for operating budgets) would remain separate from the capital share.
Why it matters: PEG channel upgrades affect the picture quality available to viewers of the city’s public access, government and educational channels, and the capital-fee increase would provide additional funds the commission can use for equipment and studio upgrades.
Details of the offer and the commission’s response
Commission counsel and members said Comcast…
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