Bridgeville opens public hearing on Comcast franchise renewal; staff cites subscriber decline and authorizes audit

Bridgeville Borough Council held a public hearing on Oct. 9, 2025, to begin the preliminary process for renewing Comcast's cable franchise under Section 626 of the federal cable act. Staff said the hearing is intended to review the operator's past performance and solicit community input on future cable-related needs before negotiating renewal terms.

Staff outlined benefits the borough may seek in renewal negotiations, including system upgrades, stronger customer-service standards, free services for community facilities, improved reporting requirements, mechanisms to enforce the franchise and maximized franchise fees. The borough noted it had retained special legal counsel from Cohen Law Group to assist in renegotiations and said the Verizon franchise will come before council in a separate renewal process.

On fiscal context, staff said the borough authorized an audit of cable accounts as part of the renewal. In the record staff stated, "This year there's 500," when reporting current Comcast account counts. Staff also said the borough's two cable franchises generate roughly $87,000 to $100,000 annually, which borough staff described as a meaningful revenue stream that has declined as consumers shift to internet-based streaming.

Council asked whether the franchise renewal process covers internet service; staff said internet and streaming services are governed by different regulatory regimes and not covered by the traditional cable-franchise renewal. The council opened the hearing to public comment and no members of the public spoke. The council then adjourned the hearing and moved on to its general meeting.

The record for the hearing includes the public-notice materials and staff statements about retention of counsel, the authorized audit and subscriber counts noted in the hearing.