HomeMy WebLinkAbout29926 / 79-137amsary 4, 1979 # 13
PCRL�'OSE: C7J1�iS�7r � TP.AN5FF:�2 GW[�R.SHTP �' CP:IV SYSTII�
INiTZF1TED BY: CITY AI3tilINIS rT'L�'I`IO*7
RFSOI,[Pt'ION
BE IT ILSQLUED by the Cu;�non Caimcil of i-he City of Oshkosh i�ati the City
of Oshkosh gives its consent to the transfer of aanership of the CATV systen in
Oshkosh, Wiscr:�sin, fran Wa_^ner Cable Corp. tr� G.�3xi.e1 Associat,es of Cr�l��s I,
o£ 5111 OcPan Boulevard, Sarasnta, Florida 33581.
SUB�iITTED BY
-13--
Transfer is a rove
pp d
of cable TV fr •
anch �se
The Oshkosh Common Council gave its approval Thurs-
day night to the transfer ot the ci[y's cable television fran-
chise from Warner Cable Corp. to Coaxial Communications
ot Sarasota, Fla.
Coaxial and Warner have reached an agreement
whereby Coaxial wi11 acquire Warner's cable systems in
Oshkosh, Neenah, Menasha and Reston, Va.in exchange
for acquisition by Warner of CoaxiaPs cable system in Col-
umbus, Ohio. Coaxial will also get some additional cash
and notes from Warner in the deal and Warner will receive
stock trom Coaxial in a company which has the rights to
lechnology Warner is interested in.
Coaxial wiil be the third firm to hold the Oshkosh cable
T'V franchise since the council awarded the tranchise [o Cy-
press Communications Corp. o[ Los Angelesin March,
1972. Cypress' interests were later acquired by Warner.
The Oshkosh manager ot Warner Cable, Richard John-
son, told the Council Thursday night that Warner Commu-
nications, the giant parent corporation for War�er Cable,
"went to Coaxial and made them an offer they couldn't re-
fuse."
Johnson explained that Warner wanted to acquire Coa-
xial's big Columbus franchise because it needed a large
market to make it ewnomically feasible to implement
Warner's CUBE home communications system.
Johnson insisted that Warner was "pleased" with the
growth of its cable (ranchises in the Fox Valley. gut he said
he feels that Coaxial, a relatively small firm specializing in
cable TV, "will be able to react mueh more quickly Lo the
city's desires."
He said a smaller corporation will be able to make deci-
sions reacting to local couditions faster than a big company
like Warner. One ditficalty he men[ioned in [he Foat Valley
was that Warner was unwilling to extend service to some
new subdivisions because the areas had only been platted
and no homes had been built.
Johnson said that in the case of Coaxial, "They will rec-
og�ize [hat these homes are going to be built, that things
are going to happen."
Johson defendc+d the quality of Warner Cable's video and
audio transmission to its Fox Valley subscribers, but he
also said Lhat when the franchise is acquired by Coaxial,
°I'm sure the quality is going to improve."
He said that with the transmission system Coaxial wj1l
be using, if one channel goes out, the other channels will
not be affected. lTith the present Warner system, he said,
all channels will go out simullaneously i( the microwave
transmission system fails.
Johnson, referring to Warner's preseuL microwave
Eransmission system, remarked, ' 7t was the state of [he
art wheu it was put in, but righf now, it's outmoded."
Coaxial, [ormedin 1967, built and operated 23 local cable
systems in Florida, Georgia and Alabama before it devel-
oped the Columbu� system.
Couucilor Kathieen Propp brought up Ihe issue at the
Thursday night meeting of whether the Council could pre-
vent a cable operabr trom broadcasting pornographic mo-
vies to subscribers. City qttorney John Pence assured Mrs.
Propp that the Coimcil has the power to ban the use ot the
cable system for showing X-rated tilms.
m
N
�
�
b '
�
c�
�
w
�
�
nf
Fi
�
O E
� �
�
� �
� �
m v�
� �
U �
U
0
N
�
O
+i
N
�
�
O
�
N
� : ` �
�
4a
O
a
«-i
..'
N
Fa
N
�
�
O
ti
m
w
+� 6
LL
O
6 �a
N
O .,1
E s,
u
�
U
C
O
�i
J�
O
�
� �ti
°� a
�
� ��
�
a �
� � �U
.� v '
� r�i
h U