West Hollywood Threatens to Yank Cable Franchise

In the wake of a public outcry over poor service, the West Hollywood City Council on Monday moved a step closer to pulling the plug on Century Communications Corp., which supplies cable television to 12,000 city households.

After listening to 20 angry subscribers and an impassioned plea from a Century executive, the council, by a 5-0 vote, called on its staff to prepare a resolution to be considered next Monday that would revoke the company’s franchise unless its problems are resolved in six months.

Barring reconciliation with city officials, Century is expected to wage a legal battle to protect the franchise it assumed in January, 1987, which industry sources estimate is worth at least $24 million.

Cable subscribers have complained about poor picture quality, frequent service interruptions, and inefficiency by the company’s customer service representatives.

Many subscribers have been incensed since the company began installing high-tech converter boxes last November that impair the remote control and programming features of videocassette recorders and so-called “cable ready” television sets.

Relations Strained

In seeking to revoke the franchise, the city says Century has violated the terms of its franchise agreement by failing to meet technical standards as well as customer service commitments.

Relations between the company and city officials, which have been strained for months, reached a new low last week after a city-commissioned study of the cable franchise was released showing Century failed to meet minimum FCC technical standards at 14 of 15 locations tested.

In his appearance before the council, William J. Rosendahl, Century’s vice president, complained that he had not received the 68-page report until last Friday and had not been given enough time to review it.

Findings Rejected

Rosendahl rejected the report’s conclusion that Century’s technical services were deficient, while acknowledging that “some fine tuning needs to be done.”

But the council was unwilling to accept that argument.

“I was hoping to find Century Cable contrite tonight, and what I see is a continued denial of responsibility for the problems they’ve caused,” said Councilman John Heilman, who has been an outspoken critic of the cable company.

Heilman was especially upset at Rosendahl’s suggestion that city officials may have manipulated the results of the tests, which were conducted by a private communications consulting firm.

‘Major Problem’

“To suggest that we somehow rigged it just shocks me,” he said. “There’s a major problem here, and I don’t see a good faith effort on (the company’s) part to deal with it.”

Ian Tanza, the city’s cable TV and fine arts administrator, called the company’s failure to meet the FCC standards “an embarrassment.”

“The kind of tests (done by the consulting firm) are the kinds of things a cable company should do on a daily basis. . . . For them to suggest that they don’t believe they have problems indicates a serious problem in the way the company is being managed,” Tanza said.

During much of the almost two-hour council hearing, Rosendahl scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad as one disgruntled subscriber after another stood at the podium and complained about the company.

Woman Gave Up

West Hollywood resident Joan Miller said she had spent more than 100 hours on the telephone with company representatives since January trying to get her cable service restored, until she finally gave up last week.

“Until such time as you throw them out and get somebody else in, I’ve given up,” Miller said.

Others complained of no service, poor service, incorrect billing and days and even weeks of waiting for repair personnel who never arrived. Several complained of being unable to get through on the company’s telephone lines for days.

“One time when I didn’t have anything better to do, I held the phone up to my ear and let it ring for an hour and a half,” one man said. “Nobody ever answered.”

Compromise Rejected

In moving toward revocation, the council rejected a staff recommendation to continue trying to negotiate a solution with the company, with a view toward seeking revocation if no progress was made by April 18.

But any inclination to continue negotiating may have evaporated last Friday, after a meeting between Rosendahl and several city officials ended with ill feelings when, according to one city official present at the meeting, Rosendahl threatened to sue the city.

Under terms of the franchise agreement, Century has six months to remedy any alleged non-compliance before its license can be revoked, regardless of whether the company takes legal steps.

“I hope that they (Century) will use the six months to resolve all the problems, and come up with a comprehensive management plan to revamp their operation,” Heilman said. “If they do that, we may be able to salvage what’s left of our relationship. But if they spend their time involving the city in a legal battle, we’ll know what their answer is.”

Last month, Beverly Hills notified Century of its intention to impose a fine of $250 a day until the firm meets franchise requirements.

Two weeks ago the company reached an agreement in principle with the city of Santa Monica on the terms of a franchise. Attorneys are expected to begin drafting a formal agreement soon.