HomeMy WebLinkAboutCeracche Television Corp Cable Franchise WIGGINS, TSAPIS, HOLMBERG AND GERSH
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELORS AT LAW
309 NORTH TIOGA STREET
WALTER J.WIGGINS
• ITHACA, N. Y. 14850 TELEPHONE
STANLEY TSAPIS
LAURA H.HOLMBERd -
(AREA CODE 607)
DAVID B.GERSH ITHACA AR 3-2040
DIRK A.GALBRAITH
WILLIAM S.SEL-DIN March 6, 1975
Martin A. Shapiro, Esq.
Attorney for the City
108 East Green Street
Ithaca, New York 14850
Re: Ceracche Television Corporation Cable Franchise
Dear Marty:
In accordance with the representation made by Mr. Ceracche
and me on behalf of the Ceracche Television Corporation,
we do hereby reiterate that beginning April 1, 1975
Cable Channel 2 will provide one hour per week free access
to the public at no charge at a reasonably good viewing .
hour. If you need any further verification, please advise.
Thanking you for your kindnesses and courtesies extended,
I am,
Vernyyysaipis
yours,
ST:lk S$`a
\ I
cc: Hon. Edward Conley
cc: Clerk, City of Ithaca
cc: Mrs. Nancy Meyer
cc: Mr. Anthony Ceracche
)
Attachment 1
RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE C01414011 COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF ITHACA Oil MARCH 5, 1975
LOCAL LAW 110. 7 OF THE YEAR 1975
CITY OF ITHACA
A Local Law Amending the Franchise
Granted to the Ceracche Television
Corporation
Be It Enacted by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca, New York, as
follows :
SECTION I. AMENDMENT TO THE FRANCHISE GRANTED TO THE CERACCHE
TELEVISION FRANCHISE
That the Ceracche Television Corporation is permitted to increase
the basic charge to residential users in the City of Ithaca from $4. 50 to
$5. 50 per month for the period of one year from the date of final approval "
by the New York State Commission on Cable Television; and
That said increase is granted pursuant to the employment of a
uniform system of accounting for the Ceracche Television Corporation, and
That the continuance of said increase will depend upon adequate
indication that the income is needed for the satisfactory operation of
cable television services in the City of Ithaca, said indication to be
furnished to the Charter and Ordinance Committee of the Common Council
no later than July 31st of the calendar year for which the continuance
of the increase IS TO BE granted.
That no change will be made in the present charge of fifty cents
monthly for additional hookups to the same subscriber at the same address
that are in operation as of March 1, 1975, such additional hookups to be
billed at the price of one dollar monthly per additional hookup installed
after March 1, 1975•
SECTION II. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Local Law shall take effect immediately after filing in the
Office of the Secretary of State.
STATE OF NEW YORK )
COUNTY OF TOMPKINS) ss :
CITY OF ITHACA )
THIS IS TO CERTIFY:
That I, Joseph A. Rundle, am the City Clerk of the City of Ithaca.
That the foregoing resolution is a true and correct copy of resolution
duly adopted by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca at its regular
meeting on March 5, 1975•
That all members of the Common Council had due notice of such. meeting.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal
of the said City of Ithaca this, 10th lay of March, 1975.
septi A. Rundle, City Clerk
SEAL
e _
CITY OF ITHACA
TOMPKINS COUNTY
ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850
orl-iee op TELEPHONE:272-1713
TWE MAYOR CODE607
MEMO TO: Joseph Rundle , City Clerk
FROM: Mayor Edward J. Conley
DATE: March 14, 1975
SUBJECT: Ceracche Television Corp. - rate increase
Enclosed please find a letter from Roy W. Boyce , Esq. along
with the .Lpplication of Ceracche Television Corp. requesting
from the Commission on Cable Television approval of a rate increase
for your attention.
EJC:rb
ENC .
RECEIVF0, MAP 3 1975
LAW OFFICES
COHEN AND BERFIELD
BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING
LEWIS 1.COHEN 1129 20TH STREET, N.W.
MORTON L.BERFIELD WASHINGTON, D.C.20036 AREA CODE 202
ROY W. BOYCE 466-8565
March 11, 1975
Mayor
City of Ithaca
Ithaca, New York 14850
Dear Sir:
Enclosed is a.copy of the Application of Ceracche Television Corp.
requesting from the Commission on Cable Television of the State of New
York approval of a rate increase in the as described
in tire-Pspprlication.
This is also to advise you that any objections to the requested
action must be submitted to the Commission on Cable Television, and
served on the undersigned as counsel for applicant, within fifteen (15)
days of the receipt of this material.
Sincerely,
6�;0)1
Roy W. Boyce
Enclosure
STATE OF NEW YORK
COMMISSION ON CABLE TELEVISION
In the Matter of )
Application of Ceracche Television Corp. ) Docket No.
for approval of amendment to franchise )
in the City of Ithaca (Tompkins County) )
APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL
Ceracche Television Corp. , by its attorneys, hereby requests approval
of an amendment to the franchise in the above-referenced community. This
amendment modifies the rates that may be charged on applicant's cable tele-
vision system in this community. The amendment amends the franchise
previously submitted to the Commission. See Order Granting Certificates
of Confirmation in Docket Nos. 10057 et al. , Issued July 1, 1974.
I. Statement of Material Facts and Proof of Municipal Approval
There is attached hereto as Attachment 1 a resolution from the above-
referenced community modifying rates as indicated in the resolution. This
resolution was adopted after an appropriate public proceeding.
II. Statement of Appropriateness Under Section 822(3) of the
Executive Law
Applicant's cable television system in this community conforms
to all presently applicable Commission regulations as evidenced by the
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Certificate of Confirmation granted for this community, supra. Approval
of this action would not violate any law, regulation or standard of the Com-
mission or the public interest. The rates proposed herein are comparable
to those being charged in other communities in the central New York area.
III. Effective Date
The rate increase proposed herein will become effective as soon as
possible after Commission approval. No prescribed effective date is other-
wise provided for with respect to this increase.
IV. Certificate of Service
There is attached hereto as Attachment 2 proof of service of this
application on the franchising authority as prescribed in paragraph 3 of
General Order No. 2, as amended.
The undersigned have read this document and to the best of their
knowledge, information and belief the facts asserted therein are true and
correct and this pleading is not interposed for purposes of delay.
Wherefore, it is requested that the increase in rates for cable
television service be approved as set forth above.
Respectfully submitted,
CERA HE TELEVISION CORP.
41 State Street B
Y
Suite 710 Lewis I. Cohen
Albany, New York 12207 n
BY
1129 - 20th Street, N. W. Ro . Boyce
Washington, D. C. 20036 COHEN AND BERFIELD
March 10, 1975 Its Attorneys
APRIL 7 , 1975
450-003277
N.R. & MRS . JAMES MORRISON
110 NORTH TIOGA STREET ,
ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850
DEAR CUSTOMER:
IT HAS BEEN THE POLICY AT CERACCHE TELEVISION CORPORATION TO
PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE CABLE TV SERVICE AT A FAIR AND
REASONABLE COST. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WE , LIKE OTHER
BUSINESSES , HAVE EXPERIENCED SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE COSTS
OF MATERIALS AND MANPOWER ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING THIS
SERVICE TO YOU.
IN VIEW OF THESE RISING COSTS , WE FIND IT NECESSARY TO IN-
CREASE OUR RATES . EFFECTIVE UPON THE EXPIRATION OF YOUR
YEARLY PAYMENT, YOUR BASIC RENTAL WILL BE INCREASED BY $1. 00
PER MONTH. THEREFORE , YOUR RENTAL WILL INCREASE FROM $xx. xx
TO $xx. xx.
WE SHALL CONTINUE TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO MAINTAIN, THE HIGHEST
STANDARDS OF TELEVISION CABLE SERVICE WHICH 'MODERN TECHNOLOGY
AFFORDS .
WE APPREICATE YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS MATTER.
VERY TRULY YOURS,
CERACCHE TELEVISION CORPORATION
#4 - Yearly Prepaid for City of Ithaca
t
APRIL 31, 1975
450-003327
MR. & MRS . JAMES MORRISON
110 NORTH MAIN STREET
ITHACA, NEW YORK 14850
DEAR CUSTOMER:
IT HAS BEEN THE POLICY AT CERACCHE TELEVISION CORPORATION TO
PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE CABLE TV SERVICE AT A FAIR AND
REASONABLE COST . OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WE , LIKE OTHER
BUSINESSES , HAVE EXPERIENCED SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE COSTS
OF MATERIALS AND MANPOWER ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING THIS
SERVICE TO YOU.
IN VIEW OF THESE RISING COSTS , WE FIND IT NECESSARY TO IN-
CREASE OUR RATES . EFFECTIVE MAY 1 , 1975 YOUR BASIC RENTAL
WILL BE INCREASED BY $1. 00 PER MONTH: THEREFORE, YOUR
RENTAL WILL INCREASE FROM $xx. xx TO $xx. xx.
ENCLOSED IS A SELF-ADHESIVE LABEL INDICATING YOUR NEW RATE .
PLEASE PLACE THIS LABEL ON THE FRONT COVER OF YOUR PAYMENT
BOOK. BEFORE REMITTING PAYMENT, PLEASE INDICATE YOUR NEW
PAYMENT AMOUNT ON THE COUPON.
WE SHALL CONTINUE TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO MAINTAIN THE HIGHEST
STANDARDS OF TELEVISION CABLE SERVICE WHICH MODERN TECHNOLOGY
AFFORDS .
WE APPRECIATE YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS MATTER.'
VERY TRULY YOURS ,
CERACCHE TELEVISION CORPORATION
#2 - City of Ithaca rate change EXCEPT yearly prdpaid
1'
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RANDOLPH & CARPENTER
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
XMWT NATIONAL HANE DUUM NG
ITHACA. NEW YORK 14880
T. B. MAXFIELD. C.P.A.
IEL F. RANDOLPH. C.P.A.
J. R. CARPENTER. C.P.A.
J. E. MICKELSON. C.P.A.
MEMBERS
-� AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF
R. T. MORRISON. ML CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOTTNTA TTS
i
July 31, 1975
New York State Commission on
Cable Television
A.E. Smith Bldg. '
Albany, New York 12225
Gentlemen:
At the request of Ceracche Television Corporation, 519 W. State
Street, Ithaca, New York, we enclose Commission Form AFR-1 for the fiscal
Year ended April 30, 1975.
Sincerely yours,
i
John R. Carpenter
JRC:jo }
enclosures
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STATE OF NEW YORK
COMMISSION ON CABLE TELEVISION
In the Matter of )
Application of Ceracche Television Corp. for ) Docket Nos. 50191--
approval of amendment's to its franchises from ) 50197
the City of Ithaca and the Towns of Caroline, )
Dryden, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield and Ulysses )
(Tompkins County) )
ORDER APPROVING AMENDMENTS
(Issued : May 1, 1.975)
On March 12, 1975, Ceracche Television Corp. filed applica-
tions for approval of amendments to its franchises from the above-
captioned municipalities . A copy of each application was served on
the appropriate municipality and notice of the applications was
published in our Weekly Bulletin. No objections have been received.
Each of the amendments was adopted after a public hearing
held on due notice. The amendments approved by the above-captioned
towns would increase the basic residential monthly service charge
from $5.00 to $5.00 for the first television set and from. $..50 to
$1.00 for each additional television set. The amendment approved
by the City of Ithaca would increase the basic monthly service
charge from $4.50 to $.5.50' for the first television set and from
$ .50 to $1.00 for each additional television set installed after '
March 1, 1975.*
The applications are governed by Section 822 of the
Executive Law, which requires us to approve applications thereunder
except in certain specified circumstances . Applying the standards
of Section 8223, we conclude that we should not withhold our approval
of the present amendments . , See NewChannels Corporation, Order
Approving Amendments , July' 12, 1973.
The local law authorizing the increased monthly service charge `.
in 'che City of Ithaca limits the effectiveness of the new charge
to a "period of one year from the date of final approval by the
New Ydrk State Commission on Cable Television. . . .s' This pro-
visions appears to... have been adopted by the City at the suggestion
of.a .meuiber of the public who originally appeared in the local pro-
ceedings in opposition to the proposed increase.
- 2
11 •
We note that on February 4, 1975 the Town of Caroline r
adopted an amendment to its franchise entitled "Expanstion of Cable
Service In Areas of Low Population Density. " This amendment was
submitted for our approval by letter dated February 17, 1975.
Although the Town has not conditioned its approval of the rate in-
crease in any way, it appears that the Town may have anticipated
that 'the ,Commission would act favorably upon the line extension
amendment prior to or simultaneously with its action on 'the rate
increase amendment.
We have reviewed the line extension amendment but have
found it so unclear as to preclude approval at this time. (We
note that the existing franchise may itself require extensions of
service.) Recognizing that our approval of the rate increase may
affect 'the incentive of the company to negotiate in good faith
toward clarification of the line extension amendment, we wish to
emphasize that unless that amendment is clarified and resubmitted
within a reasonable period of time, we intend to institute a pro-
ceeding under Section 824 (2) of the Executive Law, which authorizes
the Commission to order extensions of service where service has
been unreasonably withheld. We 'have instructed our staff to co-
operate with the company and the Town in clarifying the terms of
the -line extension amendment.
We also note that on April 28th, letters indicating. that
the rate increases here under consideration were to be effective
May 1st were mailed to subscribers affected by the increases. We
believe that this action constituted a violation of the Section 822
requirement for prior Commission approval of the franchise amend-
ments authorizing the increases and that, in any event, it- is
highly inappropriate for cable television companies to presume
favorable Commission action on their applications. It appears ,
." however, that the- company acted on the basis of a misunderstanding
between its counsel and our counsel, and we _-therefore have conclude..'
not to impose any penalty in this case.* We have instructed our
* Counsel for the company requested advice concerning the manner in
which the increased rates here involved could be implemented, assum-
ing Commission approval; this inquiry was prompted, in part, by the
fact that Ceracche Television's billing is handled by an Ithaca
bank and .involves monthly coupon books .which are distributed to cus-
tomers at two-year intervals. In response to this inquiry, our
counsel advised that the company was free to authorize the bank to
prepare (by computer printout) the letters here in question, at the
company's risk and on the basis of the. 'company's anticipation of
favorable Commission action. Counsel for Ceracche Television appar-
ently understood this to mean that the company was- free to authorize
the preparation and mailing of the letters.
staff to refrain from advising cable television companies concern-
ing the mechanics of implementing rate increases authorized by the
Commission. We reiterate that, in our view, it is a violation of
Section 822 of the Executive Law to bill subscribers at rates
which have not been approved by the Commission, and we stress that
we intend to impose penalties for any such violation that may here-
after occur.
THE COMMISSION ORDERS :
The applications of Ceracche Television Corp. for approval
of amendments to its franchises from the City of Ithaca and the
Towns of Caroline, Dryden, Ithaca, Lansing, Newfield and Ulysses
are hereby approved.
Commissioners Participating: Robert F. Kelly, Chairman; Jerry A.
Danzig, Vice Chairman; Michael H. Prendergast (dissenting in past) ;
Eli Wager; Edward J. Wegman, Commissioners .
COMMISSIONER PRENDERGAST (dissenting in part) :
I believe that the company's violation of Section 822
is, in substance, a violation of the rights of the subscribing
public and that the effective date of our approval of the rate
increases should have been deferred until June 1, 1975.
R
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TELEVISION CABLE FRANCHISE AMENDMENTS
RATE INCREASE ETC.
DATED: SEPT. 8, 1971
EFFECTIVE: JANUARY 1, 1972
11 (b) (1) Residential or Commercial establishments; Maximum charges: First
installation charge - $15.00. Ea^h additional installation $15.00.
Rental for first installation - $4.50 per month
Additional rental charge for each extra set at the same establishment:
Residential 50¢ per month per set. Commercial: $1.00 per month per
set.
i
(2) Suspended service: No charge for disconnecting and no rental charge
while disconnected. Reconnecting charge: $5.00.
(3) This section was deleted.
(4) The user shall have the privilege of selling and transferring the
service once only to a different party at a different address for a
$10.00 transfer charge, where the service is available at the terse.
Attachment 2
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I, Cynthia Gibson, a secretary in the law offices of Cohen and Berfield,
Washington, D. C. , hereby certify that I sent this 11th day of March, 1975,
by U. S. mail, postage prepaid, a complete copy of the foregoing "Application
for Approval" and a copy of the attached letter to the following:
Mayor
City of Ithaca
Ithaca, New York 14850
(Cynthia Gibson
fW
APPENDIX C
MAXFIELD, RANDOLPH & CARPENTER
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
lIRST NA710NAL RANR BUILDING
ITHACA. NEW YORK 14850
T. B. MAXFIELD.C.P.A.
R. F. RANDOLPH. C.P.A.
Jr. R. CARPENTER. C.P.A.
J. E. MICKELSON. C.P.A. MEMBERS
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF
R. T. MORRISON. JR. CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
September 17, 1975
Mr. Anthony Ceracche
Ceracche Television Corporation
519 W. State St.
Ithaca, New York 14850
Dear Mr. Ceracche:
i
The following operating summaries and operating percentages have been prepared
from the corporation's unaudited financial statements:
Year Ended April 30,
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Operating Summaries
Income $ 612 996 $ 689 892 $ 782 296 $ 917 746 $ 974 064 $1 065 258
Expenses 528 859 612 897 693 044 724 264 875 864 1 013 529
84 137 76 995 89 252 193 482 98 200 51 729
Employees' profit-
sharing
Contribution 29 674 19 340 22 792 42 927 21 366
Expenses 1 232 2 606 2 278 _ 2 352 2 116 2 797 a
30 906 21 946 25 070 45 279 23 482 2 797
Earnings before
federal taxes 53 231 55 049 64 182 148 203 74 718 48 932
Federal taxes 28 382 20 443 10 109 55 844 11 726 5 513
a
Net Earnings 1 24 849 34 6 0-6 54 07 -K-352 S-62 992 S 43 419
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MezrimuL"RANDOLpIi & OARPENTER
a CiaZV7iO PvsLzo AOGOVX'w&f
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Mr. Anthony Ceracche
September 17, 1975
Page 2
Year Ended April 30,
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Operating Percentages
Income 100.0% 100.0% 100,0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Expenses 86.3 88.8 88.6 78.9 89.9 95.1
13.7 11.2 11.4 21.1 10.1 4.9
Employees' profit-
sharing
Contribution 4.8 2.8 2.9 4.7 2.2 -
Expenses .2 .4 .3 .2 .2 .3
5.0 3.2 3.2 4.9 2.4 .3
Earnings before y'
federal taxes 8.7 8.0 8.2 16.2 7.7 4.6
Federal taxes 4.6 3.0 1.3 6.1 1.2 .5
Net Earnings 4.1% 5.0% 6.9'/
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Sincerely yours,
Maxfield, Randolph & Carpenter ?'
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A 21
NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION
ON CABLE TELEVISION Bldg.
A. DANZIG ELI WAGER
A,IfX9d![pEQHCDIaCX
2168 Tower Bldg. VICE-CHAIRMAN COMMISSIONER
p
Axxr.mXx}C=Kx Empire S Cate r lazaMICHAEL H. PRENDERGAST EDWARD J. WEGMAN
(818) 474-4992 Albany, New York COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER
ROBERT F. KELLY 12223 C. LYNN WICKWIRE JOEL YOHALEM
CHAIRMAN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COUNSEL
September 8, 1975
Hon. Edward J. Conley
Mayor, City of Ithaca
Ithaca, New York 14850
Dear Mr. Conley:
Enclosed is a cony of a complaint we received from a constituent
of yours. We -received it on September 2,1975and forwarded a
copy to Cerrache Television Corp. asl=ing for a reply within
10 days.
The enclosed is for your information since this company is operating
within your jurisdiction.
If we can ever be of any assistance to you, do not hesitate to
contact us.
Sincerely yours,
J �
Jo n A . Per -in
Feld Investigator
JAP/mp
Enclosure
'_,
308 Kline i:oa.6 Li `
Ithaca, N.Y. �c50
cAugust 29, 19 SCP , 2 AM 1: 34
New York State Television Cable Corirlssion �= �► i't�` • = s` _
21 Floor Towcr D-iilding CGIVIN!SS .� N
Empire State Plaza C+A.D'L EL��v;�� 0
Albany, N.Y. 122:.3
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to you as a private citizen concerned with the •quality ,
of broadcase reception -:o receive in this area of the st�.te--in hopes
that you rhight be �.ble to tell me r,-.ore about
1) the responsibilities of the State Cable Commission
2) the responsibilities of Cable Companies
3) the too-.�ers tihzt- individuals (i.(?. con.sumors) have to initizte
improved service of;ered the.:;.
We were sorely disappointed in et^ r.vrc able to receive when we
moved here last year. I am by profession a political scientist, although
I am not employed presently by any school, and I Hope to !•,rite some articles
for the local ne.-:spr:per 4boUt conCii'�lons here. this plan rias inspired, by
the incipient opening of the new R. Clessical radio station in Binghamton,
and the absolutely .attrocious service c!e have experienced upon being hooked
up with the local cable compzny this last month.
Ule hay have been somcvhat spoiled by having lived in Albany this past
seven years .(1967-74), but ave find Ithaca a barren ti•rasteland of good
FINI and TV reception, even though t•;it;h very little effort, it seems to
me, it could be improved irameeacly. Last year v,:e rented c home on the
fringe of Ithaca, atop one of the local hills and relied. on our ot•,•n
TV and Ff:i aerials. Our TV and Ff., reception was r;oderately good for
N 3C and CBS tv from Binghar.ton, and rather poor for l;f and PFS (ETV).
from Binghamton. b+e hoped in moving to torn to even get better reception
by being eligible for cable hook up. Just the opposite .has happened. .
These are, first of all, no published circulars distributed by the
Cerrache Cable Company explaining what choices a consumer has, and
when we requested hook up, r,,e were told neither rates, restrictions,
services, or obligations, and this led to an incredible series of
calls, visits, etc. , chich even no., isn't clear. 11ithout explaining
this experience in detail, I can only conclude that the company is
guilty of deception if not actual rnisr2presentation and fraud in
some of its claims. I would like to discuss in detail sone of
my observations first about the TV reception enc; then about the Ufa
reception.
The Cerrache Company claims to brie_ -to its customers a total of
fifteen channels stations, and as I flip the button on the television
I find in fact that every station has something now. There are stations
from isinohan;ton, _Elmira, Scranton, Syracuse, l.ochester, .rev, York City,
and Ithaca itself; three CES affiliates, three ids affiliates, :our
ltiI affiliates, three indepcncents, --nd only one public station
according to them. All appecr very clear on my set, but I are bothered
by the fact that public•teleivision is so poorly represented. Those
people without the cable receive only the public TV from Binghamton,
whereas -those :,ith cable receive only the public TV from Syr cuss.
There are several reasons •rhy Binghmoton ETV should be on the cable.
The first is that it could help to integrate the community here to
have those v.i-th cobl-n and those without cable to have the same
stations available. The second is that the area of Tompkins County
and Ithaca are more politically end geographically tied to the
Binghamton region than to the Syracuse region--consi6erecet a; they .
are in a number of a6ministrativc districts as the "Southern Tier."
The third reason is that :,ith the opening of -the ne,^ Public i= :: radio
Station ;,J'SI:G Ff.; on September 28, people here. vrillprop bly find in- ,
suffi ient inducement to subsdibe to the program guide to support the
Ff:I station unless the TV reception from its sister station is also
avai. able. E V is flatly discrimina-c2d agzainst by the CC=ache
Ca1?,6 Company when one considers that only one public Station is
carried and three or four commercial stations of each net�,ork. This
could easily be rectified, as the tourers of the cable company are
in a position to receive the public TV from hinrhamton.
The R' reception poses an even more outragc6us condition, and it is
this that mainly concerns me. The company claims to offer to its
subscribers reception to just about all F14 stations up to about fifty
mile radius. Some are altered on the Fl dial so that there will be
no double signal and received more clearly. One might have. assumed
that, since' they are charging for Fi:1 hook-ups, bringing the stations
on altered frequencies--at the sane rate as for television--the service
would be ectal. It is not. The U.ro towers of antennas on each rim
of Ithaca, I have learned have not one single Ff-.. aerial, and what
reception is possible cores as an accidental biproduct of the TV
aerial pick up. vome of the stations it claims to"receive" are
so poor as to be not vlorth listening to. Others have considerable
hiss and static, making them not appropriate for the listening to
the nice classical music they often proadcast. And that station
which I looked forward to hearing most, the public station fro,-,I Syra-
cuse, 11Ci�Y, comes in so poorly that they have no right to claim it
as broadcast at all. Despite the foct that Ithaca has a sophisticated
university population and one nationally known school of music at
Ithaca College, the cable company has chosen not to carry those very
classical stations ';Oi,!O and 1,'1C1Tf and (shortly) �':SKG th�.t v,ould be
most appealing, and which would probably bring them more business.
]A he justification they gave me for their decision is that people
'rob' -t-ho company of F1,1 fees by ;unauthorized' hoof: ups frmm TV in
any case, and that in addition there was no more room for the aerials
for E4 on the existing to:•.e•rs, and thc:t to brine ncV; stations would
require laying neer•cablos into to,.-,,n uritis all the accornpa.nying problems
of securing land rights, tc. G'eanuthile they continue to charge people
installation fees for ., and monthly rates for E.1, even though they
in no !:ay 19 provi::e 6equi-te or quality service.
I :;ould lire most of all to obtain th? quality Fila reception which
I 'Chink could and should be offered, and ,,.ould be i,:illing to pay
for it, Lnd no doubt other people, err_=re they rnz. e a,;are o: the
polsibility, •;ould too. It is this ':rhich I v.1ould hope to provoke
by writing a series of articles for the local n^n;spFper. Right nov,',
however, the company shows no enthusiasm for e;:pandinc in this area
at all.
I :•;ould like to ash your help in re•i;ting uh;n.t information t•;ould
be helpful for these purposes, and of course your coo.peru; ion in
improving the reception here. If you are c:illinc and have the Lime,
I ;-could like you to c<11 me on the tie line sore- day soon so that
can -tali: further, or at tho tory least ans%= those problems
which I have posed in this letter. ;:;y nu:rber here in It1h«ca is
272-6227, and I am working at home most of tnc time. I hzve talked
with 'the people at `;;I:G ;,i in Binghamton, and they are grateful for
any exposur- they czn get for their new ;-i.: station. I have agreed
that it could be best not towrite anytiZing too soon before the opening
broadcast date of Soptember 20. But I would hope to have something
reader within a week, or
Thank you for any help ylu ca.n give to me.
Sincerely,
v�
H. Clilliam B;tt