It's time for city and Cox to agree on programming
Our view: Preserve the access channels that provide a genuine public service and turn the rest over to cable company
Like a good television program, Cox Communications' contract-renewal talks with the city of Tucson have been filled with mystery and drama. For the sake of some local workers and the community's TV viewers, it's time for both parties to find a solution.
Contract talks between Cox and the city have been taking place since early spring. Both sides must reach a deal through informal talks instead of having to go through a formal license-renewal process that will be both costly and time-consuming.
The city set a deadline in October that could get the formal process started as early as Dec. 12.
Television is important in our society, and it serves our community's interest to have a reliable cable franchise. Nielsen Media Research reported in September that the average home has more televisions than people — 2.73 TV sets in a typical home with 2.55 people. The same report said half of American homes have three or more televisions.
Main sticking point
Though Tucson and Cox officials won't say so publicly — because they don't want to negotiate through the media — it's likely the main sticking point, as it was in spring, is the number of public access, education and government channels Cox would provide under a new deal.
There are nine access channels in the Cox lineup. One of those is a digital channel viewable only by Tucson's police and fire departments. Of the other eight, three are operated by Access Tucson, Pima Community College has two, and the University of Arizona, Tucson Unified School District and the city have one apiece.
The key point is that those eight analog channels take up about 6 percent of Cox's total bandwidth. That doesn't sound like much, but one analog channel could be turned into 10 digital channels; therefore, it's important real estate.
It's also important to public-access supporters to have their channels on the analog spectrum because making all those channels digital would require people to have set-top cable boxes to see them. That would price out some public-access viewers who don't already subscribe to a digital-cable package.
If the number of analog access channels could be reduced from eight to four, for example, Cox would have 40 more channels available on which to offer high-definition programming, on-demand movies and sporting events, or whatever the future brings in TV entertainment.
Cox officials declined to say how many access channels they are offering, but it's safe to say it's fewer than nine and more than four — two analog and two digital — which is the number of access channels called for in a new law that Cox helped get through the Legislature this year.
Tucson is unique in that it is the only Arizona city with more than four access channels. Cox officials said they are willing to give the city more than the minimum number of access channels that would be required under the new law.
"It has always been our intention to come to an agreement with Tucson prior to the law coming into effect," said Anne Doris, vice president and system manager for Cox in Southern Arizona. "Both sides have been focused on coming up with a scenario that balances the needs of the community and cable customers."
Differing needs cited
Those needs differ depending on with whom one talks.
Cox officials point out that access channels have little viewership and consume a disproportionate amount of bandwidth for the number of people who tune in.
The people involved with public-access channels argue that their operations give Tucsonans an opportunity to tell stories that would otherwise never reach a television screen.
Both sides make valid arguments. Access Tucson is the jewel of local public-access channels. The programming found on Access Tucson's three channels can be offbeat and strange, but in few other places can one find stories about, and produced by, Southern Arizonans.
For example, Access Tucson regularly broadcasts important high school athletic events. The community won't find that anywhere else.
Sam Behrend, Access Tucson's executive director, said in the fiscal year that ended June 30, Southern Arizonans produced 1,600 hours of original programming.
Though these programs don't draw a large number of viewers, they are an important public service.
Similarly, the city's access channel, Tucson 12, carries City Council meetings and programs about other Tucson events and developments.
More people will watch "ER" or "Survivor" than a council meeting, but Tucson 12 is worth keeping because it gives Tucsonans another way to engage their government.
Access channels are underutilized when they offer classes, for instance, or constantly repeat announcements. There are other ways to disseminate such information — such as Webcasts and podcasts.
Access channels shouldn't become bulletin boards or 24-hour commercials. If that's all they are, Cox customers lose out on better viewing opportunities.
Many people are eager for Tucson and Cox to reach a deal, as evidenced by a series of town halls that were held recently to discuss the cable company and access channels.
Meetings called "biased"
At the first two of the five meetings, Cox employees showed up in force. At the latter three meetings, it was supporters of public access who came out in big numbers to give their points of view. That prompted Doris, the Cox manager, to write a letter to the city alleging that it was holding "biased" meetings.
City Council members denied the allegation. Behrend said Cox's move to pack the first two meetings backfired because public-access supporters saw what the company was doing and reacted with equal force.
Cox made headlines again last week when some people were put off by a survey the company was conducting to gauge community interest in access channels and possible new digital services.
Behrend called the Cox survey a "push poll," which is a political tactic of painting an unfair picture about one candidate in order to "push" them to another candidate.
The push poll characterization was unwarranted.
Doris said the company was researching what customers want.
As the talks between Cox and the city drag on, these flare-ups are bound to continue.
"There is so much at stake, both for Cox and the community. I would expect the debate to get intense," said Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, a supporter of the access channels. "Any stakeholder is going to fight, and fight hard, to protect their interest.
"I don't see that as a bad thing necessarily. I see it as very healthy. We are engaged and paying attention."
Like any good TV show, however, the suspense has to come to an end. The sides have been talking long enough and it's time to make a deal.
Preserve the access channels that provide a genuine public service and turn the rest over to Cox so that it can offer programming the vast majority of the public wants to see.
The community can then get back to its regularly scheduled business.
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