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Virginia council hears draft Mediacom franchise response; asks cable commission to review
Summary
A city‑hired attorney reported Mediacom has offered extensive redlines to a proposed franchise renewal and pushed back on a council request for a short term; the council agreed to route the draft to the cable commission for review but commissioners lack a quorum to act formally.
A consultant representing Virginia reviewed negotiations with Mediacom over a franchise renewal for the city’s cable system and said the company is seeking material changes to a draft the city transmitted earlier this year.
Attorney Bob Vos told the Committee of the Whole that because Mediacom missed a prior administrative deadline to assert certain federal renewal rights, the city begins negotiations with some leverage. But he said Mediacom’s response contains more redlines than he expected and that most are drafting or legal issues he would reject as a matter of course.
Two substantive issues flagged for council comment: the city had asked for a relatively short franchise term (the council discussed a five‑year term); Mediacom proposed a 10‑year term. Second, Mediacom suggested removing several named facilities from the list of sites that historically receive free service under the franchise; the parties asked the council to confirm which locations should remain listed.
Access channel and public access: City staff told the committee the draft does include language to require Mediacom to provide the city’s public access channel in high definition; Mediacom’s attorney noted the issue needs discussion. City representatives said having HD (or current‑format) carriage for public access was a priority for the council.
Process and next steps: Councilor Kevin Johnson moved that staff forward the draft to the cable commission for review; the council supported the motion. Staff and counsel noted the cable commission currently lacks enough appointed members for a quorum, so commissioners can review the draft and return comments to council as individuals but could not take a formal vote until the commission is fully seated.
