Council OKs New Cable Television Guidelines

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday approved some long-awaited cable television guidelines aimed at providing more diverse programming and public access to the airwaves.

The new guidelines, which will affect renewals of 14 cable television franchises, also call for the cable companies to work with the city to implement “a major municipal studio in the Civic Center area” that would broadcast such events as regular City Council meetings.

The guidelines, approved unanimously, had been proposed by the city’s Department of Telecommunications.

The council, however, sent back to committee one provision that would have raised the limit on fees that companies pay the city from 3% to 5% of a franchise’s gross receipts. Part of that money would have gone to the department and other telecommunications projects.

William J. Rosendahl, director of corporate affairs for Group W Cable, told the council that such an increase--in his company’s case, $500,000--would probably be passed on to consumers.

Councilman Ernani Bernardi charged that such an increase would amount to “levying a tax on the people who use cable.”