Ilya Marritz
Ilya Marritz covers business for WNYC.
Cable Companies Compete for Franchise
Monday, April 14, 2008
New York, NY –
Cablevision and Time Warner are the city's only two cable television franchise holders - but that could soon change.
Cable contracts must be reviewed every decade and the current franchise period ends this October.
Today, the city begins accepting new proposals for citywide cable contracts.
Verizon is one likely contender. The company wants to add cable TV service to its new FiOS fiber optic network.
Any new agreement requires the approval of the Franchise Concession and Review Committee. One member of that body, Comptroller Bill Thompson, has proposed a "Cable Consumer Bill of Rights" to go with any new franchise.
Cablevision has about 600,000 customers in the city, Time Warner has 1.2 million. Both companies are in franchise renewal talks.
For WNYC, I'm Ilya Marritz.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.