HANSON – The Select Board on Tuesday, June 24 approved renewal of the contract with Whitman-Hanson Cable Access, while taking the opportunity to express a couple points of general dissatisfaction with its cable provider corporation Comcast.
“Let’s be real,” said Chair Laura FitzGerald-Kemmett on the subject of the paltry discount offered to the community’s elder residents.
“You’ve got to practically cut of your left arm, give a pint of blood and show all kinds of documentation to get two bucks a month off of your cable bill?” she said.
“This is less than worthless,” said Select Board member Ed Heal, “If I knew Xfinity was my only option when I moved to Hanson, I wouldn’t have moved to Hanson.”
He said he has cable outages almost on a daily basis and he works from home.
“There are meetings that I’m supposed to be attending from home that I’m disconnected from because Xfinity is my only option.”
He does not have Xfinity cable because it is to big an expense, so he has just the basic cable, which is supposed to be the best Comcast can do – spending hundreds of hours on the phone with Comcast for my cable service, and it continues to go out.
While he completely supports WHCA, he has no use for Comcast.
Heal’s experience is not isolated, other Board members attested, so Solomon offered to have Comcast Government Affairs Representative Kathy Maloney reach out about the possibility of meeting with the board on other issues.
“A lot of companies don’t give a senior discount,” said Attorney William Solomon, special cable counsel working with the town on its third licensing agreement over the past 20 years, reviewed the new contact and answered questions ahead of the board’s vote. “It’s totally voluntary. We can’t require them. They provide a discount.”
He ticked off the names of some cable companies that do not, which includes Verizon, and Charter.
“It doesn’t mean much,” Solomon said of the Comcast senior discount.
“No, it doesn’t,” said Vice Chair Ann Rein. “It’s $2. It’s rather insulting. It’s one reason why a lot of us cut that cord. Mine’s cut and it’s been cut for three years.”
But Solomon did say that if the Board voted to have Town Administrator Lisa Green, with town counsel, draft a letter to Comcast parent corporation Xfinity asking for a really meaningful payment break for seniors,
He said the way he views it, a senior discount is voluntary and they do give something, albeit not much, “but the rest of the contract is so valuable to the town,” but the company may just be in a mental rut and they don’t want to open a Pandora’s box.
Select Board member David George asked if Comcast offered a veterans’ discount, saying that Verizon does offer one.
“That’s why I don’t have Comcast,” he said.
FitzGerald-Kemmett said, all criticism aside, Solomon represented Hanson and what they are or might be getting in the contract process.
In the letter, Solomon said, he would, in a fair way, thank them for what they did do – something they don’t normally say or do — approach them on the negotiated point that, in six years, they do those things elsewhere, they’ll come to Hanson and it can be discussed.
“Without that letter, they might just do more channels,” he said.
Other than that, Solomon said he would not defend Comcast on that point, but to be fair to the company, the new license has tremendous value that was negotiated fairly with the town of Hanson.
Solomon said the real value of the contract that is financially worth millions, is that it is good for the local economy and helps people work together.
“I always say, ‘Show me a town that doesn’t have any community television, and I’ll show you a town, where people just don’t work together.”
Rein agreed that community television is very valuable.
“That’s what we’re fighting for,” she said, “But the senior discount? That’s a virtue signal that just doesn’t signal.”
He said the new 10-year license is to Hanson’s benefit as it is the maximum length for a cable license allowed in Massachusetts, likening the benefit to a “good, long-term mortgage, you sign up for it.”
It provides the town with some certainty over 10-year period, according to Solomon.
“We have good news of completion of the Comcast cable license,” he said. “Let me just say, it’s an outstanding license. The key issue in these licenses now are PE&G and capital dollars. You’re in 4.75 percent of the company’s gross revenues – just short of the 5 percent, which actually has some benefits.”
Hanson has been at that level of revenue for the last eight years, according to Solomon, who added that’s where most of the funding comes.
Revenue is not just cable fees, it’s advertising, sales on Home Shopping Network, whatever comes into them, with rare exception, under the license, is revenue, of which the town gets 4.75 percent for its portion of the WHCA operating costs.
“That makes if simpler,” Solomon said. “It also prevents gamesmanship at Comcast. … Capital support, as I said, is really outstanding, and it reflects the work of Muloney. She’s known the towns, and Hanson, and working with Lisa has made a big difference at the negotiating table. We were able to get an excellent dollar number.
That is a fixed number, while he said Comcast has been taking the position elsewhere for the past five months that it doesn’t want to pay a fixed capital amount, and would rather pay on a per-subscriber basis that would lead to uncertainty and risk.
“We were able to convince Ms. Maloney and – more importantly – she’s been able to convince the folks she works with, that Hanson’s license should mirror the Whitman license,” he said.
That capital payment is $212,800 over 10 years – $21,280 per year – a credit to WHCA Executive Director Eric Dresser and his ability to sell his 10-year creative vision of making sure they have the proper equipment.
“And what’s great about WHCA-TV, is that it’s not only the equipment, it’s the output,” Solomon said. “It’s the programming on all of PG&E and the programming and the product.”
“Hanson, like Whitman, has done a tremendous job with respect to community television,” Solomon said. “As you know, PE&G – public, educational and government – access has never been more important, since COVID with remote meetings, they say democracy would have ended [without it].” That tremendous job has continued in Hanson with respect to the Select Board and other committees being able to get their message out and remain visible to residents, he noted
Much of that is credited to two excellent directors at WHCA – current Executive Director Eric Dresser – “No one’s better in the state.” Solomon said – and the late Steve Roy before him.
“As we know, cable revenues are challenged, nowadays, with some people cutting the cord and going to streaming and we don’t currently share that revenue, “Solomon said, adding that, “Cable still has a great program and, frankly, there’s not a better cable company than Comcast. I know that from working with all the companies, even though they’re on the other side of the table from me.”
WHCA currently has three standard access channels and, going forward, will have those three channels upgraded to SDI – or, serial digital interface – that is a better-quality picture and better audio and, in addition, Comcast is providing a high-definition channel within 24 months. After providing that channel, Comcast has 18 months before having the right, if the corporation wants to, to reclaim one of the standard definition models.
“There again, that’s not being agreed to anywhere else by Comcast,” he said. “The reason they want the channel back is to use it for internet bandwidth, and the reason we want it back, is we want everyone to be able to see the PE&G [coverage] on the standard channels, lower channels, and not have to go higher.”
He also noted there are still people who watch television on a non-HD-ready set.
“Credit to Comcast, who understood how strongly Hanson felt, and Lisa and, obviously, Eric played a crucial role in that provision that they would wait on their right to reclaim it, so it doesn’t happen right away,” Solomon said.
Hanson’s contract also has no population density requirement. They have to serve everyone in the town, he pointed out.