Cable Choice

Comcast Hires Insiders - Potential to Thwart Competition

Today’s Washington Post runs an expose on Comcast’s politically connected hires in Maryland, which raises eyebrows as to whether or not potential competitors can get a fair deal in the state. The most prominent of these hires is none other than Governor Ehrlich’s wife who hosts a program that is only available as a pay-per-view selection and appears to be of little to no programming value. Another factor that should make consumers and those who care about good government shudder is the manner in which the relationship with Comcast and Ehrlich’s wife has been handled:

In June 2003, when the governor vetoed a bill that would have stopped Comcast and other companies from shifting the state tax burden to Delaware holding companies, the advocacy group Progressive Maryland publicly questioned whether the first lady's job posed a conflict. The governor's office dismissed the allegation.

Soon after, a pregnant Kendel Ehrlich announced she was leaving Comcast to have her second son. There was no public announcement when she returned, but her salaried job as a "production manager" reappears on her husband's disclosure forms for 2004. She is not required to disclose how much she is being paid and would not say, when asked.

The full article details a case in Prince George’s County, MD where cable competitor StarPower was applying for a franchise and found itself on the receiving end of a 11th hour demand for $400,000 improvements that ultimately snuffed out StarPower’s application. The County Executive at the time was Wayne Curry, Jr., who now consults for Comcast.

The stories continue: the University of Maryland Board of Regents where a string of well connected folks have dual roles as Regents and employees of Comcast or firms that have Comcast as a client. This little trick stood out for me:

Another regent, lawyer Leronia A. Josey, found an unusual way to satisfy the ethics requirement when Burch contacted her about a job in 2000, one year after she had joined the board.

"I had to resign, and then I was reappointed," Josey said, describing the maneuver that allowed her to become a regional director of government and community relations. The former regent, who now consults with Comcast, said she did not even miss a meeting.

I suspect there may be many more stories like this across the country. Does your local cable provider have “interesting” relationships with your city, county or state elected officials?

FCC Report on Video

Broadcasting & Cable (also ChannelChanger) report that the FCC released its Video Competition Annual Full Report and it looks good for consumers. C4CC has filed arguments with FCC that the Commission has the authority to step in and promote competition by setting national rules for franchises. The full report released Friday (preliminary release came at the positive hearing the FCC held in Keller, TX to examine real competition up close) is inline with our comments specifically noting the “70/70” rule:

According to the Communications Act, when cable is available to 70% of U.S. households, and 70% of that number are subscribers, cable will have become sufficiently dominant that the FCC is allowed to come up with new regulations to "promote diversity of information sources."

That could well mean giving telco video services help by way of easing local franchising restrictions, which Congress could mandate anyway in its current rewrite of the Communications Act.

C4CC is committed to pressing forward on all fronts to bring consumers more choices, better quality and lower prices for cable. Momentum in Congress, filings at the FCC – C4CC is engaging on the front lines so that consumers across the country get a fair shake in the video marketplace.

Franchise Reform Bill Soon in Congress?

National Journal is reporting that the leadership of the House Energy & Commerce Committee are close to an agreement on a bipartisan franchise reform bill. Chairman Barton said: "We are hopeful to get a bipartisan agreement [so] that we can release some sort of a draft" either late this week or early next week, Barton told a National Association of Broadcasters event. Barton plans debate in his panel's Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee in March. "My position is that there should be a national [video] franchise," Barton later told reporters. This is a very encouraging development as there has been significant momentum recently on Capitol Hill to pass a reform legislation to give consumers real choices in the cable marketplace, better service quality and lower prices

Franchise On a Roll in the States

Indiana is the latest state to pass statewide franchise reform legislation and send it to the Governor for his signature.  Virginia passed a compromise franchise reform bill clearing the way for speedier deployment of new technologies and providing consumers with a real choice.  We cheer the movement by these states, but we truly need a national franchise policy so a patchwork of different policies affecting consumers in each state, some benefiting a lot, some benefiting a little.  Congress needs to set a level bar across the country so consumers everywhere have more choices, better service and lower prices.