Hermosa Beach : Better Cable TV Promised

ML Media Cable TV executives admitted to the City Council this week that service and response time for repairs are less than adequate in this city and in Manhattan Beach.

Richard Waterman, vice president and general manager, promised that subscribers--about 14,600 in the two beach cities, with about 5,000 in Hermosa--would notice a “dramatic” improvement in the near future.

ML Media is making technical repairs, has added five channels and should offer quality service by October, executives said.

Joan Noon, city general services director, said the city received two or three complaints a month when Storer Cable operated the system and has received more than a dozen complaints a month since ML Media took over last December.

“They only call us when they don’t get satisfaction from ML Media,” she added.

Residents who spoke at a public hearing Tuesday night complained that while the quality of their service has decreased, their rates were raised. Most customers received an average increase between 10% and 20%, Waterman said in an interview. However, the rate for the basic, 12-channel service was raised from $10.13 to $12.95, he said.

The City Council is to discuss the cable system further at its Aug. 11 meeting, but council members June Williams and Tony DeBellis expressed concern that the city may not be able to force corrective measures until ML Media’s contract expires in October, 1988.