THOUSAND OAKS : Cable TV Franchise Agreements Extended
The Thousand Oaks City Council has temporarily extended franchise agreements with Falcon Cablevision and Ventura County Cablevision, ensuring uninterrupted service while negotiations on long-term contracts continue.
This week’s action extends for six months the city’s existing franchise arrangements with Falcon, which serves nearly 4,200 customers, and Ventura County Cablevision, which reaches 31,000 homes. The contracts had been set to expire on Dec. 31.
Patched together in a series of ordinances, resolutions and contract extensions, the existing franchise agreements date back 20 years, said Caroline Milton, the city’s cable specialist. The city hopes to negotiate new franchise agreements by June 30, 1994.
Negotiations, under way for nearly 18 months, have been complicated by changes in federal law giving cities new powers to regulate cable TV. Rapid advances in technology have also made it hard to pin down specific franchise agreements, Councilman Alex Fiore said.
“Because of the delay, we’ll be able to bring (knowledge of) new technologies into our negotiations,” Fiore said.
Fiore and Councilwoman Jaime Zukowski sit on the council’s cable TV franchise renewal subcommittee.
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