Dozens of Cities Sue FCC Over Get-Out-of-Fees Cable TV Order

Cities from Los Angeles (CA) to Boston (MA) are fighting a Federal Communications Commission decision they say will cost them millions by letting cable TV providers such as Comcast partly pay them with services like free air time instead of money. At least 46 cities are asking federal appeals courts to undo an FCC order they argue will force them to raise taxes or cut spending on local media services, including channels that schools, governments, and the general public can use for programming. The lawsuits reflect a larger clash of interests among localities, media companies, and the FCC brought on by the agency’s tactic of promoting broadband deployment nationwide—especially in rural areas with spotty or no internet access—by easing rules for business. The order’s backers say cable companies won’t be as willing to invest in internet services, and build infrastructure, if they have to provide public access TV and other telecommunications services on top of the franchise fees they’re required by statute to pay. Cities, though, see a future of diminished returns.

If companies contribute less than 5% in cash, cities will have to reduce their public media budgets, stop offering services, or cut into other programs to make up the difference, said Benton Research Fellow Christopher Ali, who also serves as an associate professor in the University of Virginia’s media studies department. The franchise order is part of “much larger agenda to diminish the power of municipalities,” Ali said. “We’re seeing this battle between municipalities and big media, and big media is winning.”