AMHERST – Rejecting a request to cover the costs of more than $2 million in capital needs for the town’s public access station, Comcast is offering a significantly lower amount in a proposed relicensing agreement.
Comcast, in an April 12 response to the town’s request, is offering $450,000, spread over 10 years, according to a letter from Eileen Leahy, the cable company’s senior manager of government and regulatory affairs for the western New England region.
That is only about 20 percent of the $2.2 million including in the town’s March 14 request, with the money to pay for capital upgrades for Amherst Media, including equipment and a small addition for studio space.
This request came after so-called ascertainment hearings in which the Select Board sought comments from residents, with people calling for better and more reliable service, more meetings to be covered by Amherst Media, improved broadcast presentation of these meetings, and more homes connected to cable and Internet.
Comcast also suggests that it pay 5 percent of gross operating revenues to cover operational expenses for the public, educational and governmental, or PEG, channels.
This funding, which has been between $280,000 and $310,000 annually under the current contract, is used for facilities, equipment and staffing at Amherst Media.
“We believe this proposal substantially meets the community cable related needs taking into account the costs to individual subscribers, based on the ascertainment of Amherst subscribers obtained by Comcast,” Leahy wrote.
The correspondence from Comcast, and responses in an 86-page draft agreement, allows face-to-face negotiations to begin between the town and the cable provider, said interim Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner.
Hechenbleikner said he, Boston attorney Peter Epstein of August & Epstein and two members of the Cable Advisory Committee will meet with representatives from Comcast several times in the coming weeks and months. He hopes to have a deal brought to the Select Board before Oct. 16, when the current 10-year contract expires.
Though Hechenbleikner expects to depart from Amherst before then, to be replaced by a permanent town manager, he said he is willing to continue his role in negotiations and return to present the new contract in the fall.
While the appeal for money for Amherst Media capital needs will be one point discussed during negotiations, it’s unclear how much leverage the town has for annual operating expenses, Hechenbleikner said.
He explained that 5 percent of the gross operating revenues for PEG access is the maximum allowed by law, but how these revenues are defined and calculated can be negotiated, such as whether Comcast counts only the monthly subscription service as revenues, or whether fines for late fees are also included.
As part of the renewal process, the Select Board authorized the Cable Advisory Committee to hire Ashpaugh & Sculco of Winter Park, Florida, to conduct a two-year audit of Comcast to ensure the numbers reported by Comcast, related to subscribers and packages, are accurate, and that the company is correctly calculating gross revenue, including money from advertising, late fees and bundled packages, which are those subscribers who have some combination of cable, phone and Internet service.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
