Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 1332 | Fair Competition in Cable Operations
Section 1332.30 | Public, Educational, or Governmental Programming Channels.

Effective: September 24, 2007
Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 117 - 127th General Assembly
(A)(1)(a) If a municipal corporation or township has three or more PEG channels programmed on January 1, 2007, the person providing those channels pursuant to a franchise, competitive video service agreement, ordinance, or resolution or otherwise shall continue to provide those PEG channels, three of which shall be on the person's basic cable service, with the additional PEG channels on the person's basic cable service or on any service tier viewed by more than fifty per cent of the subscribers in the video service area. Any such additional channel may be reclaimed if it is not substantially utilized. For the purpose of divisions (A)(1)(a) and (B)(2) of this section, a PEG channel is "not substantially utilized" when fewer than forty hours of noncharacter-generated content are programmed on that channel each week and less than sixty per cent of the programming is nonrepeat and locally produced.
(b) If the municipal corporation or township has one or two PEG channels programmed on January 1, 2007, the person providing those channels pursuant to a franchise, competitive video service agreement, ordinance, or resolution or otherwise shall continue to provide the channel or channels, with one PEG channel on the person's basic cable service and, as applicable, the second PEG channel on the person's basic cable service or on any service tier viewed by more than fifty per cent of the subscribers in the video service area.
(2) A municipal corporation or township by written notice shall require a person providing video service in the municipal corporation or township on or after the effective date of this section, other than a person described in division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section, to provide the same number of PEG channels under the same service tier conditions and subject to the same channel reclamation as those required under division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section of the incumbent person but, if there is more than one such incumbent that provided PEG channels on January 1, 2007, the person shall provide the same number required of the incumbent with the most recent obligation. The notice shall state the appropriate number of PEG channels and the service tiers required. Following receipt of that notice, the person shall provide the PEG channels not later than one hundred twenty days after the municipal corporation or township is able to deliver the PEG channel content.
(3) Nothing in division (A) of this section precludes a person and a municipal corporation or township from entering into other arrangements for PEG channels, including agreements increasing or decreasing the number of channels required under division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section.
(B)(1) A municipal corporation or a township that has no PEG channels programmed on January 1, 2007, and lies within a video service provider's video service area may require the video service provider by written notice to provide PEG channels beginning after the provider initially provides video service within the municipal corporation or unincorporated area of the township. The video service provider shall provide the PEG channels one hundred twenty days after the municipal corporation or township is able to deliver the PEG channel content. The provider may use any service tier viewed by more than fifty per cent of the subscribers in the video service area to provide the PEG channels.
(a) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, the number of required PEG channels shall not exceed three if the respective municipal corporation or township has a population of at least fifty thousand, or two if the population is less than fifty thousand. If there is more than one video service provider providing PEG channels in the municipal corporation or township, the number of channels shall be the same for all the video service providers.
(b) If a video service provider distributes video programming to more than one municipal corporation or township through a single headend or video hub office and the aggregate population of the municipal corporations or townships is at least fifty thousand, none of those municipal corporations or townships shall require the provider to provide, in the aggregate, channel capacity for more than three PEG channels. If the aggregate population is less than fifty thousand, none of those municipal corporations or townships shall require the provider to provide, in the aggregate, channel capacity for more than two PEG channels.
(2) A video service provider may reclaim a PEG channel under division (B) of this section that it determines is not substantially utilized. At such time as the municipal corporation or township that caused the establishment of the PEG channel can later certify that the channel will be substantially utilized, the video service provider, within one hundred twenty days after the date the video service provider receives that certification, shall restore the reclaimed channel as a PEG channel. However, the provider need not carry that channel on any specified tier of service.
(C) No municipal corporation or township shall require a video service provider to provide any institutional network on its video service network, except that a person that, pursuant to a franchise, competitive video service agreement, ordinance, or resolution or otherwise, provided any institutional network on January 1, 2007, shall continue to provide the institutional network until the obligation would have expired if not terminated pursuant to division (B) of section 1332.23 of the Revised Code, or, if earlier and as applicable, until January 1, 2012, or such earlier date as may be specified in an ordinance or resolution in effect on the effective date of this section. The provider shall give the municipal corporation or township at least one hundred twenty days' written advance notice of that termination. If the obligation included terms regarding the infrastructure of the institutional network upon the expiration of the obligation, the video service provider shall honor those terms. Nothing in this division precludes such a video service provider and a municipal corporation or township from entering into other arrangements for institutional networks.
(D) A video service provider shall accept PEG channel content and programming under this section that, at the least, meets the transmission standards of the national television standards committee in effect on the effective date of this section.
(E)(1) The unfulfilled obligation of a person under a franchise, competitive video service agreement, ordinance, or resolution in effect on the effective date of this section to provide monetary or other support to a municipal corporation or township for PEG channel facilities shall continue until the obligation would have expired if not terminated pursuant to division (B) of section 1332.23 of the Revised Code or, if earlier and as applicable, January 1, 2012, or such earlier date as many be specified in an ordinance or resolution in effect on the effective date of this section.
(2)(a) Each other person providing access to video service within the municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of a township after the effective date of this section shall have a pro rata share of the same unfulfilled obligation to support PEG channel facilities during the same time period as the incumbent under division (E)(1) of this section, but, if there is more than one such incumbent, each other person shall have the same obligation as the incumbent with the most recent obligation.
(i) If the incumbent support is in the form of a percentage of gross revenues or a per subscriber fee, the video service provider shall provide that same level of support in that same form.
(ii) If the incumbent support is in the form of a lump sum payment without an offset to its video service provider fee, the video service provider shall be responsible for a pro rata share of that payment.
(iii) If the incumbent provides in-kind support, the video service provider shall pay the municipal corporation or township a pro rata share of the fair market value of that support.
The video service provider may identify and collect the amount of any fees authorized by divisions (E)(2)(a)(i) or any payment authorized under division (E)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section and the cost of any content conversion, if applicable, as a separate line item on the bills of its subscribers having service addresses within the municipal corporation or unincorporated area of the township.
(b) A video service provider's pro rata share of the unfulfilled obligation under division (E)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section shall be based on its proportion of video service subscribers with service addresses in the municipal corporation or unincorporated area of the township. For the purpose of determining the pro rata shares, all persons under divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section shall report quarterly to the municipal corporation or township the total number of subscribers served within the municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of the township. This information shall be treated as confidential by the municipal corporation or township and shall be used only to derive the pro rata shares.
(c) The person shall remit its pro rata share to the municipal corporation or township quarterly, not sooner than forty-five nor later than sixty days after the end of the preceding calendar quarter. However, the person need not pay its pro rata share unless the municipal corporation or township provided notice to the person of the amount due. The municipal corporation or township shall use the payments only as authorized under federal law.
(F)(1) If a municipal corporation or township requires a person to provide connectivity for PEG channel programming on January 1, 2007, the person shall fulfill that obligation and provide connectivity sufficient to connect its headend or video hub office to the municipality's or township's PEG access channel origination points existing as of January 1, 2007. The obligation shall expire January 1, 2012, or such earlier date as may be specified in an ordinance or resolution of the municipal corporation or township in effect on the effective date of this section or, if earlier, at the end of the most recent such connectivity obligation of any person to the municipal corporation or township. The person may use the most economically and technologically efficient means of providing that capacity.
The person may identify and collect the amount of its costs to provide connectivity as a separate line item on the bills of its subscribers having service addresses in the municipal corporation or unincorporated area of the township.
(2) During the time described in division (F)(1) of this section, if the municipal corporation or township requests that a PEG channel origination point existing as of January 1, 2007, be relocated, the person may charge the municipal corporation or township for the costs of constructing that part of a transmission line, connecting the person's headend or video hub office to the relocated point, that extends two hundred feet beyond the headend or video hub, but not for the costs associated with the transmission of the PEG programming. Also, during that time, the person may charge for the construction costs associated with additional origination points, but not for the costs associated with the transmission of the PEG programming.
(G) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no municipal corporation or township shall require a video service provider to provide any funds, services, programming, facilities, or equipment related to PEG channels. PEG channel operation and programming shall be the sole responsibility of the municipal corporation or township. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the video service provider shall bear only the responsibility for the transmission to subscribers of the PEG channel programming once the programming is delivered to the video service provider.