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Home My WebLink About6.e. Approval of Charter cable television changes to communuty programming channels 4RC--]IISEMOUNT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CITY COUNCIL City Council Regular Meeting: July 15, 2014 AGENDA ITEM: Approval of Charter cable television AGENDA SECTION: changes to community programming _ channels (wig t IC I PREPARED BY: Alan Cox, Communications Coordinator/Cable Commission AGENDA NO. Alternate • ATTACHMENTS: Proposed resolution, Charter request APPROVED BY: RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve resolution allowing Charter to modify and re- locate the local community programming channels Background In June, the attorney for the Apple Valley-Farmington-Rosemount Cable Commission was notified by an attorney for Charter Communications that the company is seeking each city's consent to change the channel assignments for the community programming channels in the three cities. The change would come as part of a conversion of Charter's systems in Minnesota to all-digital distribution as soon as August 5. The Commission discussed the proposal at its meeting last month and directed its attorney to negotiate some details of the proposal. The Commission's attorney has recommended approval of the resolution provided tonight. The company asserts that the digital conversions will provide a number of benefits to consumers. It says the community channels will be moved to assignments ranging from channels 180 to 189, near similar programming in the basic service tier. To help viewers find the new assignments, Charter will provide advertising on other cable channels and additional publicity. The new channels will allow standard-definition video quality. Charter says it will"work in good faith"with the City to agree on at least one high-definition channel,which would take advantage of the upgrades of the video equipment in the Council chambers to be completed this summer. CITY OF ROSEMOUNT DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA RESOLUTION 2014 - ALLOWING CHARTER TO MODIFY AND RELOCATE THE LOCAL COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING CHANNELS WHEREAS, Charter Cable Partners, LLC, 1/k/a Charter Communications ("Charter") operates a Cable System to provide Cable Service within the City of Rosemount ("City") pursuant to a Franchise Agreement with the City ("Franchise"); WHEREAS, the Franchise requires Charter to dedicate five (5), six (6) MHz channels for public, educational and government ("PEG") access programming managed by the City, and provides that Charter shall not relocate any PEG access channel unless agreed to in writing by the City; WHEREAS, the City or its designee is currently programming four (4) channels with PEG programming; WHEREAS, Charter intends to transition to an all-digital platform for the delivery of video channels and programming on or about August 1, 2014; WHEREAS, as part of its all-digital conversion, Charter has requested the City's consent to provide the PEG channels over less than six (6) MHz each and to relocate such channels in accordance with Attachment A ("Relocation"); WHEREAS, the City wishes to accommodate Charter's all-digital conversion and Relocation request. NOW, THEREFORE, the City resolves as follows: 1. The City consents to the Relocation as outlined in Attachment A effective immediately. 2. The PEG access channels shall continue to be located on the basic service tier. 3. Charter has notified its subscribers of the PEG access channel relocation via direct mail and shall provide further notice of the new PEG access channel locations as set forth below. A. Charter shall list the PEG access channel locations in its on-air program guide in a non-discriminatory fashion when compared to its commercial programming channels. B. Charter shall provide in-kind air time over the twelve (12) month period after the date of this Resolution on advertiser supported channels (e.g. USA, TNT, TBS, Discovery Channel, etc.), on a run-of-schedule basis, for the purpose of airing a City-produced announcement, not to exceed thirty (30) seconds in length, explaining the PEG access channel(s) relocation. The aggregate value of the in- kind air time shall not exceed Two Thousand Five Hundred and No/100 Dollars ($2,500) based on advertising rates equivalent to those Charter charges to commercial advertisers in the region. Upon request, Charter will verify the schedule of the airing of such announcement(s). 4. Charter agrees that the City shall, within a reasonable time after a written request, have no less than one (1) PEG Channel converted to a high definition ("HD") Channel. The parties agree to work in good faith to reach mutual agreement on the terms and conditions of such conversion. 5. Nothing in this Resolution shall be deemed to waive, resolve or settle any matters subject to negotiation in relation to possible renewal of Grantee's franchise including the City's need and interest in receiving additional HD channels. The parties expressly reserve all rights in this regard. ADOPTED this 15`" day of July by the City Council of the City of Rosemount. William H. Droste,Mayor ATTEST: Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk From: Jane Bremer [mai Ito:Jbremer(a)brernerlaw.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 3:59 PM To: Vose, Robert J. Cc: 'Hill, Mike S'; 'Bordwell, Tom E' Subject: System upgrade and PEG channel relocation Bob, Attached please find Charter's proposed template Resolution granting consent for the Minnesota PEG relocation for your review. Once you have had a chance to review this, lets plan to talk at your earliest convenience and obviously, this needs to be customized for each community. Charter would like to proceed amicably with your client communities but we do need to make this a priority. As we discussed, Charter is converting its Minnesota cable systems to an all digital platform as of approximately August 5, 2014 which offers significant benefits and features for subscribers highlighted below. As part of that process, we are proposing to create a public service neighborhood of simliar channels In standard digital format, all located together on channels between 180-200 and all provided as part of the Basic Service Tier. All subscribers will have digital set -top equipment, so all subscribers will continue to receive the PEG channels, Charter will have significant communications in the marketplace to support customers through this transition. We have also proposed to work together with the franchising authorities specifically to promote the PEG channels through this transition. The customer benefits of converting to an all digital system are substantial; 1, More channel selection - we are adding over 100 channels as of August 2014 with now more capacity to keep adding new programming options; 2. More HD capacity- a critical feature to customers. Charter will be adding up to 100 HD channels to the system which brings the total HD channel count to approximately the 200 channel mark, 3. Access to On Demand. Digital subscribers have access to thousands of On Demand offerings such as free movies and free prime time programs; 4. Better signal quality - digital signals are not subject to nearly as much interference as analog signals - they are crisper, brighter and much less likely to show snow, noise, etc.; 5. Faster internet - customer will see their flagship internet service speed doubled from 30 to 60 Mbps at no additional-Charge; 6. Improved system reliability - digital systems have"fewer moving parts" so the likelihood of system outage and signal quality Issues is reduced (and much appreciated by customers). The franchising authorities have the opportunity to be part of these new services and Charter wants to partner with the communities it serves to accomplish a smooth transition: 1. The PEG channels will be part of a large public service neighborhood, making channels simple to locate; 2. Charter has offered to make HD capacity available for PEG use -this is not currently an option and one that can only be achieved through mutual agreement; 3. The signal quality of the digital PEG channel should be better than the current analog feed; 4. Good communications with customers is both of our jobs; in addition to the customer notifications currently underway, Charter has offered to promote the PEG channel locations though a variety of means; 5. Franchising authorities have the opportunity to promote the PEG channels via their own on-air resources and on their websites, This process has been smooth in other communities when we work together. We hope to partner with our franchising authorities as we launch these broad system enhancements and look forward to discussing this with you. 1 1 Thanks, Jane Jane E. Bremer, Esq. BREMER LAW, PC 255 Riverview Tower 8009 34th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55425 2