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Council allows limited advertising on local cable-access replays, delegates content review to Northwood Technical College
Summary
The council approved changes to local cable-access rules to permit rebroadcasts of locally produced recordings that may contain business advertising, subject to content restrictions, legal review and Northwood Technical College approval.
The City Council voted to allow limited advertising on rebroadcasts of locally produced programming on the city’s cable-access channel. The change responds to a request from Justin Livestream to rebroadcast high-school athletics and other local events that include advertising in the original recordings.
City staff said the city’s contract with Northwood Technical College governs the local cable channel and that current city rules prohibit advertising. The proposed rule change would permit some advertising on reairs provided programs meet content standards similar to those used elsewhere (for example, prohibiting ads for controlled substances and lewd content). Staff said legal counsel will review final rule language and Northwood Technical College must agree to the terms before rebroadcasts begin.
Council members asked whether each submission would return to council for approval; staff and Northwood representatives said the intent is to allow Northwood to screen and reair materials as long as they comply with the council-approved rules, rather than requiring council approval for each program. City staff noted the contract with Northwood is annual (renewal effective July 1) so the council can revisit the arrangement at contract renewal if the council wants different limits or conditions.
Council members also discussed practical limits — for example avoiding duplicate recordings of the same event — and acknowledged other community organizations could apply to have programming rebroadcast under the same rules. Staff said the policy could be trialed for a year and adjusted as needed.
Speakers and roles referenced on the record included a city staff member who presented the proposal, Alderman Kittle, Justin Strand of Justin Livestream and Dr. Alex Burkholtz of Northwood Technical College; the Police Department and other departments were noted as stakeholders for enforcement and scheduling concerns.
