§ 7.10

This chapter shall be cited as the Los Gatos Cable Television Franchise Ordinance.

(Code 1968, § 9.10.010)

The Town Council finds and declares as follows:

(1)

The development of cable television and communications systems has the potential of providing great benefits to the people of the Town.

(2)

In order to maximize such benefits in an area of complex and rapidly changing technology, it is necessary that the Town exercise regulatory powers over cable television, including but not limited to such matters as rates and performance.

(Code 1968, § 9.10.015)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases, words and their derivations shall have the meaning given in this section. Words not defined shall be given their common and ordinary meaning.

Access channel means any program or signal channel available for nonprofit use by government agencies, educational institutions, community groups, or individual members of the public, under terms established by the franchise agreement.

Access Channel Manager means any entity designated by the grantor to manage channels, facilities and resources provided by the grantee for public use.

Additional subscriber service means any service not included in basic subscriber television service, or basic subscriber radio service, or institutional service, including, but not limited to, pay-cable.

Basic subscriber radio service means the provision to all subscribers of such audio services as the transmission of broadcast AM or FM radio signals, the retransmission of shortwave, weather, news, time and other similar audio broadcast channels, and the transmission of cablecast AM or FM radio signals, as permitted by the Federal Communications Commission.

Basic subscriber television service means the service so designated in the franchise agreement.

Broadcast signal means a television or radio signal that is transmitted over the air to a wide geographic audience, whether received by a cable communications system off-the-air or by microwave or satellite link.

Cable communications system or system, also referred to as cable television system or CATV system, means a system of antennas, cables, amplifiers, towers, microwave links, cablecasting studios, and any other conductors, converters, equipment or facilities, designed and constructed for the primary purpose of distributing video programming to home subscribers, and the secondary purpose of producing, receiving, amplifying, storing, processing, or distributing audio, video, digital, or other forms of electronic or electrical signals.

Cablecast facility means a facility used to originate cable programming and distribute programming to subscribers.

Cablecast signal means a nonbroadcast signal that originates within the facilities of the cable communications system.

Channel means a six (6) megahertz (MHz) frequency band, which is capable of carrying either one (1) standard video signal, a number of audio, digital or other nonvideo signals, or some combination of such signals.

Closed-circuit or institutional service means video, audio, data and other services provided to institutional users on an individual application, private channel basis. These may include, but not be limited to, two-way video, audio or digital signals among institutions, or from institutions to residential subscribers.

Community access group means any nonprofit group or organization designated as eligible to utilize access channels and facilities.

Educational channel or educational access channel means any channel where educational institutions are the only designated programmers.

FCC means the Federal Communications Commission and any legally appointed or elected successor.

Franchise means the rights granted pursuant to this chapter to construct and operate a cable communications system along the public ways within all or a specified area in the Town.

Franchise agreement means a franchise grant ordinance accepted on the part of the grantee, or a written agreement between the grantor and grantee relating to the system.

Franchise fee means the charges imposed as consideration for the granting of a franchise and the continuing use of the public streets and rights-of-way.

Government channel or government access channel means any channel where local government agencies are the only designated programmers.

Grantee means any person receiving a franchise pursuant to this chapter and its lawful successor, transferee or assignee.

Grantor means the Town as represented by the Town Council or its delegate acting within the scope of its jurisdiction.

Gross revenues means all cash, credits, property of any kind or nature or other consideration derived directly or indirectly by a franchisee, its affiliates, subsidiaries, parent, and any other person or entity in which the franchisee has a financial interest or which has a financial interest in the franchisee, arising from or attributable to operation of the cable television system within the franchise area including, but not limited to:

(1)

Revenue from all services provided on the subscriber network and institutional network (including leased access fees);

(2)

Advertising revenues;

(3)

Revenue from the use of studio facilities, production equipment and personnel;

(4)

Revenue from installation, connection and reinstatement and the provision of subscriber and other services; and

(5)

The sale, exchange or cablecast for a value of any programming developed for community use or institutional users.

Gross revenues shall include, valued at retail price levels, the value of any goods, services or other remuneration in nonmonetary form received by the franchisee or others described above in consideration for performance by a franchisee or others described above of any advertising or other service in connection with the cable television system. "Gross revenues" shall not include:

(1)

Any taxes or services furnished by the franchisee which are imposed directly upon any subscriber or user by the United States, State or local agency and collected by the franchisee on behalf of the government, or any copyright or other fee collected on behalf of the Federal Copyright Tribunal or similar or successor entity;

(2)

Revenue received directly from the franchisee by an affiliate, subsidiary or parent of the franchisee or any other person or entity in which the franchisee has a financial interest in the franchisee, when the revenue received has already been included in reported gross revenue as received by the franchisee; and

(3)

Revenue received for refundable deposits.

Initial service area means the area of the Town which will receive service initially, as set forth in the franchise agreement.

Institutional network or institutional loop means a closed circuit portion of the cable system designed to provide communication services between institutions, such as schools, banks, etc.

Leased channel or leased access channel means any channel available for lease and programming by persons or entities other than the grantee, including those portions of the other access channels not in use by their designated programmers.

Local origination channel means any channel where the grantee is the only designated programmer, and provides local programs to subscribers.

Nonbroadcast signal means a signal that is transmitted by a cable communications system and that is not involved in an over-the-air broadcast transmission path.

Open channel means any channel that can be received by all subscribers, without the necessity for special equipment.

Pay-cable or pay-television means the delivery to subscribers, over the cable communications system, of television signals for a fee or charge to subscribers over and above the charge for basic subscriber service, on a per program, per channel, or other subscription basis.

Penetration means the ratio of cable system subscribers to the number of dwelling units passed by the cable television system.

Person means an individual, partnership, association, organization, corporation or any lawful successor, transferee or assignee of such individual, partnership, association, organization or corporation.

Private channel or closed-circuit channel means any channel which is available only to subscribers who are provided with special converter or terminal equipment to receive signals on that channel.

Programmer means any person or entity who or which produces or otherwise provides program material or information for transmission by video, audio, digital, or other signals, either live or from recorded tapes or other storage media, to subscribers, by means of the cable communications system.

Public access channel, community access channel or community channel means any channel where any member of the general public or any noncommercial organization may be a programmer, without charge, on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Resident means any person residing in the Town as otherwise defined by applicable law.

Section means any section, subsection, or provision of this chapter.

Service area means the entire geographic area within the franchise territory.

Street shall include each of the following which have been dedicated to the public or hereafter dedicated to the public and maintained under public authority or by others and located within the Town limits: streets, roadways, highways, avenues, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, easements, right-of-way and similar public ways and extensions and additions thereto, together with such other public property and areas that the Town shall permit to be included within the definition of street from time to time.

Subscriber means any person who or which elects to subscribe to, for any purpose, a service provided by the grantee by means of or in connection with the cable communications system.

Tapping means observing a communications signal exchange, where the observer is neither of the communicating parties, whether the exchange is observed by visual or electronic means, for any purpose whatsoever.

(Code 1968, §§ 9.20.010—9.20.225; Ord. No. 1772, § 1, 12-5-88; Ord. No. 1809, § I, 1-2-90)

Cross reference— Definitions and rules of construction generally, § 1.10.015.