Get Cable Television Franchise Agreement - City Of Fort Collins Co

Under the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (Cable Act), cable operators must obtain franchises from state or local franchising authorities, and these authorities may continue to condition franchises on various requirements.

First established by the FCC in 1965 and reaffirmed in 1972, the must-carry rules required all cable operators to assign channels to and carry all local TV broadcasts on their systems.

The franchise fee is set during initial negotiation of the franchise agreement, usually by a process in which the government requests bids from cable providers to serve their community. It can be renegotiated when the franchise agreement comes up for renewal, usually at intervals of 10 to 12 years.

Franchise Fee. It is a standard requirement for cable operators to pay a 5% franchise fee on gross revenues to the city or township in which they operate. It is also typical that cable operators itemize this fee on their bill. This has been standard practice since cable companies began offering service.

The 1972 Home Box Office (HBO) venture, in which customers paid a subscription fee to access premium cable television shows and video-on-demand products, was the nation's first successful pay cable service. HBO's use of a satellite to distribute its programming made the network available throughout the United States.