City Announces Cable Deal

City officials today announced the key components of a new cable television deal with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision.

The agreement includes up to five additional channels for public access centers citywide and three new channels for the City’s Educational and Government channels. In addition, the cable giants agreed to provide $9 million in capital upgrades to the City’s Educational and Government channels.

City officials said work still needs to be done on the overall deal. Cable operators must finalize agreements with the City’s five non-profit public access centers, including Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN).

"We are pleased that the City and the cable companies have reached a deal in principle on the key issues," said Dan Coughlin, MNN’s Executive Director. "We now look forward to wrapping up discussions with Time Warner Cable on an agreement to meet the cable-related community needs and interests of Manhattan residents and community-based organizations."

City officials said they are aiming for regulatory approval by the end of the year.

For more information on the terms of the deal, see:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/news/news_awards.shtml
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/14/2010-09-14_city_parks_to… http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/nyregion/15cable.html?bl http://www.nycwireless.net/