(a) The grantee acknowledges that the city is the current operator and manager of the existing PEG access requirements, functions and responsibilities related to PEG access channels and programming. The city shall have complete control as to the content, scheduling, administration and all other programming aspects of PEG access channels, and may delegate certain or all of the functions to an appropriate designee, which shall be subject to the terms and conditions established by the ordinance and a franchise. The grantee shall not exercise any editorial control over PEG access channel programming, except as otherwise required or permitted by law. In performing its functions under this franchise, the city shall adopt and apply the same rules and procedures with regard to all grantees with regard to PEG access channels and programming. The grantee shall provide the following additional support for PEG access channels and programming:
(1) Reservation, dedication and use of up to four PEG access channels, two channels of which may be carried on a digital tier, and two of which shall be carried as part of basic cable service. In the event a grantee fully converts its system to digital, the city may direct that up to four PEG access channels shall be carried on the least expensive tier of service;
(2) A community grant as required by § 123.302;
(3) No charges may be assessed by grantee for channel time or playback of prerecorded programming on the specially designated PEG access channels. Each user of the PEG access channels shall be responsible for the programming content and pay their own costs of programming;
(4) Each grantee shall provide seven locations for program origination (“origination points”). The grantee shall provide return capability to its system to enable live program origination from origination points on the PEG access channels. The cost of construction and equipment to each origination point up to the demarcation point of approximately 12 inches outside of the designated origination point (Demark point) shall be borne by a grantee. The origination point locations shall be identified by the city and specified in the franchise agreement. To the extent the city determines it does not need one or more origination points from a particular grantee, it shall require that grantee to make an investment in equipment or facilities for public use which is comparable to the cost that grantee avoids by not constructing and equipping the origination point(s). For purposes of this section,
COMPARABLE COSTS for each origination point shall mean an amount equal to the median amount expended by the first grantee for the seven origination point(s) required by its franchise;
(5) The grantee will include PEG access channels on its program guide channels. Any content that may be required for the listing will be the responsibility of city, based on the reasonable requirements for the furnishing of the content to grantee; and
(6) The grantee will provide city with installation, equipment and only that digital cable radio service generally available to subscribers without an additional fee, subject to grantee’s ability to lawfully do so pursuant to its contracts with the affected content providers, to be utilized as background music for PEG electronic message systems at no cost to the city.
(b) Every franchise shall include a description of channels, funding, facilities and equipment, as well as the operation and maintenance of the channels by a grantee and included in a plan for public, educational and governmental access. Given the ongoing changes in the state of technology as of the effective date of this chapter, absent express written consent of the city, grantee shall transmit the two PEG access channels in the format or technology utilized to transmit the channels on basic cable.
(c) The city may request up to two additional PEG access channels of all grantees at any time based on need. Whenever the existing PEG access channels are in use during 80% of the weekdays, Monday through Friday, for 80% of the time during a consecutive three hour period for six weeks running, and there is a demand for use of an additional channel for the same purpose, the grantees shall have six months in which to provide a new, specially designated PEG access channel. In no event shall that total number of PEG access channels exceed four.
(1992 Code, § 44-48) (Ord. 104-09, passed 11-16-2009)