NYC FRANCHISE AND CONCESSION REVIEW COMMITTEE VOTE ON CABLE FRANCHISE 

City Comptroller Liu issued the following statement in response to questions concerning today’s New York City Franchise and Concession Review Committee vote to award cable franchises to Time Warner and Cablevision:

Comptroller John Liu said the following:“Today’s vote provides New Yorkers with increased consumer protections but more can be done, especially when it comes to cable television blackouts. My office recently wrote a letter to the FCC expressing support for additional consumer protections during blackouts, and will
continue our dialogue with all New York City cable providers regarding our concerns. We will also work with the City’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications to ensure aggressive enforcement of enhanced consumer protections in our franchise agreements. I also want to acknowledge the years of hard work conducted by the City’s Borough Presidents, who should be commended for making expanded public access a reality.”