Thousand Oaks Orders Falcon to Reduce Basic Cable Rates

More than 4,000 households could soon see a reduction in their cable rates after the City Council passed a resolution ordering Falcon Cablevision to roll back basic rates from $22.45 to a maximum of $19.09 and to refund the difference to its customers.

Council members also voted 4 to 0 Tuesday to direct city officials to come back to them with a report on how Thousand Oaks can better enforce its cable franchise agreement with the company--including the possibility of revoking the agreement if problems continue.

Thousand Oaks and Falcon Cablevision have been tussling over the company’s basic rates since last year.

Falcon now must implement a new basic rate of $19.09 or lower, and come up with a plan on how to refund customers who had been paying the old basic rate. The City Council will then have to approve the new rate and the plan.

Falcon representatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Because Falcon has only charged more than $19.09 in basic cable fees since Aug. 1, the rollback will not amount to a lot of money for customers.

Moreover, Councilwoman Judy Lazar said she does not expect the resolution to end Thousand Oaks’ dispute with Falcon. She expects the company will again plead its case with the Federal Communications Commission.

“I don’t think it will be resolved quickly,” Lazar said. “We don’t have the ultimate jurisdiction in this issue. The FCC does, and how long it will take to reach an agreement is anybody’s guess.”

The council action came after a recent FCC finding that the basic cable rates Falcon Cablevision was charging were too high for the level of service that the company was providing. The FCC opinion came in response to an appeal by Falcon of an earlier city order demanding that the company lower its rates.

Falcon has been criticized by city officials and residents alike for offering fewer total channels than TCI, Thousand Oaks’ other established cable provider, yet charging more for the service because its basic rate is so high.

Falcon’s basic cable rate of $22.45 includes 38 channels. By contrast, TCI, which at 32,000 customers is Thousand Oaks’ largest cable provider, offers a basic package of 21 channels for $10.51. And GTE, which began offering cable service in parts of Newbury Park three weeks ago, is offering a basic rate of $10.95 for 28 channels.

Until recently, Falcon had been the only cable offering in certain parts of Thousand Oaks. But the company may soon face direct competition--and pressure to lower prices--from GTE, which eventually plans to offer cable service throughout the city.

“They’ve got a lot of problems they’ll have to overcome, not the least of which is competition from GTE,” Lazar said. “I’m a Falcon subscriber myself, and my neighbors are always asking me, ‘Is it true that GTE is going to offer cable? When is that going to happen?’

“They [Falcon Cablevision] offer more channels as part of their basic package, but a lot of those channels don’t cost them that much, and I’m not sure people would pay for them if they had a choice,” she added. “I think Falcon needs to face some of these issues soon.”