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Blackstone Select Board approves 10-year Comcast franchise renewal with larger PEG support and HD channel
Summary
The Select Board voted unanimously Dec. 10 to approve a 10-year renewal of Comcast’s cable franchise after special counsel outlined new financial terms that expand the definition of gross revenue, increase PEG capital and add an HD PEG channel and a voluntary senior discount.
The Blackstone Select Board voted unanimously on Dec. 10 to approve a 10-year renewal of Comcast’s cable franchise, a contract town officials and special counsel said strengthens community access funding and upgrades local channel quality.
William Solomon, the board’s special cable counsel, told the board the new license expands the definition of “gross revenues” that are subject to the franchise support formula. "We expect that the revenue could be anywhere from 10 to 20% greater because of that," Solomon said, adding that the town’s 5% public-education-government (PEG) support remains at the statutory maximum but will apply to a broader revenue base.
Solomon said the agreement includes $65,000 in PEG capital paid in ten annual installments of $6,500 plus a recurring 0.25% of the company’s gross revenues. The contract also commits the company to upgrade local PEG channels: within two years the town will be able to place one PEG channel in high definition and the remaining standard-definition PEG channels will be converted to a digital signal.
Town staff and the cable committee emphasized accessibility and implementation details. Selectman Bulso asked about captioning for hearing-impaired viewers; Solomon and town operations staff confirmed the station platform and captioning system will be compatible with the new signal standard. Solomon also said Comcast plans to include a voluntary senior discount (an approximately $2 monthly reduction for qualifying subscribers age 65 and older) and that the company’s government-affairs representative will work with the town to publicize enrollment steps.
The license leaves the town discretionary options to build municipal connections and to locate a hub site for town facilities. Solomon said those provisions preserve the town’s ability to add fiber connections or a municipal hub in the future and recommended that quarterly Comcast statements be reviewed for consistency with the broader gross-revenue definition.
Selectmen praised the work of the cable committee and legal counsel. "I think the town is getting a good 10-year deal," Selectman Sweeney said. The board authorized the town administrator to execute the final agreement when returned by Comcast, so long as there are no material changes to the terms the board approved.
The approval follows a public hearing and a presentation from the cable committee and company representatives. Next steps include final technical review and execution of the contract documents; staff said they expect the effective date to be Feb. 1, 2025, if Comcast completes its internal review.
The board’s vote was unanimous.
