Based on a complaint brought by the Town of Southampton against Cablevision, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) recently decided that Cablevision did not violate any PSC rules, state law, or federal law when it moved Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) channels from analog to digital. By ruling against the residents of Eastern Long Island, the PSC, in effect, gave tacit approval to Cablevision to impose an additional charge for equipment for some Southampton subscribers.
Here, in the City of Yonkers, although Cablevision's own news channel (News 12) can still be seen by all subscribers, during the past year, Cablevision's basic cable subscribers not only lost local PEG channels but have been stripped of 16 other cable channels that they previously enjoyed. Cablevision's alternative is to require these subscribers to pay an additional equipment charge if these subscribers want to receive these same channels digitally.
If it is so important for Cablevision to convert its systems from analog to digital in order to free up capacity for more services like high definition television, one can only wonder why important public service PEG channels were the first to be cut from basic analog service (both in Yonkers and in Eastern Long Island) while Cablevision's own news channel (News 12) was allowed to remain.
In its order supporting Cablevision, respectfully, the PSC missed the mark completely. The question isn't whether any municipality should be allowed to regulate rates for basic cable service, but rather whether Cablevision should be allowed to significantly degrade their basic analog service without adjusting the cost of this service. The City of Yonkers has no interest in attempting to regulate Cablevision's rates, but the City does feel strongly that basic tier customers should not have to needlessly suffer a degradation in service. While the technological move to an all digital platform may seem inevitable, perhaps the PSC should take a step back and reconsider this decision and take an approach that would better protect low-income and senior citizen consumers during this transition. After all, federal law requires that PEG channels be carried on the lowest service tier available.
In the City of Yonkers the vast majority of Cablevision's basic analog subscribers are senior citizens and low income residents. Why should the PSC allow Cablevision to remove approximately two dozen channels from its basic cable subscribers without requiring Cablevision to adjust the price for the remaining, degraded level of basic, analog service?
I am concerned that the Public Service Commission's decision in Southampton's complaint against Cablevision may only serve to further this corporate giant's disregard for the public interest.
