Fiber TV customers could lose Turner networks

Move would come if agreement not reached between Turner and service providers

EPHRATA — Subscribers to television services on Grant County's fiber network may soon see a dark screen on some of their favorite channels.

During Monday's Grant County Public Utility District meeting, PUD Telecommunications Director Larry Jones told the commission that television service providers on the fiber system could be shut off from Turner networks next month if an agreement is not reached between Turner and the service providers.

The PUD received a letter from Turner Network Sales in October, which told the PUD that they did not have the authority to distribute Turner networks to providers Donobi and Video Internet Broadcasting. That letter stated that TNS would allow the PUD to continue distributing Turner Networks on the fiber system as long as the PUD was responsible for the obligations in agreements between the two providers and TNS.

Jones told the commission that the PUD has drafted a letter in response to Turner, stating that the PUD is not responsible for the obligations and debt of someone else. The PUD owns the fiber optic Zipp system, but does not have contracts to provide television service.

"They want us to be a co-signer on their contract and we can't do it," Jones said after the meeting.

The PUD cannot sign the contract that Turner wants them to sign, PUD Fiber Account Manager Eric Briggs said. Briggs told the commission that the two service providers already have an affiliate agreement with Turner, and are working with Turner directly to reach an agreement on the issue.

"We just can't do that kind of deal with a private entity," Briggs said after the meeting.

If some sort of agreement is not reached, Jones said customers could lose service to Turner networks Feb. 7. Those networks include CNN, TBS, Turner Classic Movies and the Cartoon Network.

Representatives from both VIB and Donobi were out of the area and unavailable for comment before press time.

Also Monday, the PUD commission approved a contract with a Seattle-based public relations firm. Commissioners had waited a week to sign the contract, and amended approval of the contract reduced the contract amount by $20,000.

PUD Communications Director Linda Jones went before the commission asking for approval of the one-year contract with the firm Rockey, Hill and Knowlton for an amount not to exceed $60,000.

The communications firm has been working with the PUD on relicensing issues, and Linda Jones said the company provides an influence in the Seattle area. The PUD is currently seeking a new license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its Priest Rapids project which includes both the Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams.

Linda Jones told the commission that the PUD had a contract with the firm in 2004 not to exceed $200,000 and only spent about $55,000, because a few pending relicensing issues did not surface in 2004. She said the firm has done a good job in training PUD spokes people, and said the firm has also helped the PUD build allies in relicensing.

PUD Commissioner Greg Hansen asked Linda Jones if there were tasks the firm did that the PUD could handle on their own, and supported reducing the contract amount. Hansen also asked if there was any duplication among public relations firms, citing that the PUD also works with three other consulting firms.

Linda Jones told the commission that the PUD uses Rockey Hill and Knowlton primarily for contacts and issues in the Seattle area, and said other firms were used in other places.

"They each have their own set of contacts, their own relationships with people that can help us with Grant PUD issues," Linda Jones said.

The PUD doesn't have the relationships and contacts in larger areas, Linda Jones said, and cannot just call up a newspaper in those areas and gain an audience.

PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson added that the Seattle firm has helped the PUD interact with members of the Seattle City Council.

PUD Commissioner Tom Flint said that it was through groups like Rockey Hill and Knowlton that the PUD was able to get support for relicensing from western Washington groups. Flint said he was astounded when he first learned that the PUD didn't have any western Washington allies with regard to its relicensing efforts, and added that it was important for the PUD to maintain relationships with west side groups in case the PUD had issues it needed to address.

Hansen, Commissioner Randy Allred, and Commissioner Bill Bjork voted in favor of amending the resolution to a reduced $40,000. Commissioners Flint and Vera Claussen voted against the amendment.

Claussen said after the vote that the PUD has been working towards relicensing for a dozen years, and said the commission originally was not going to nickel and dime the relicensing project. She added that the PUD was not through yet.

"I don't think this is a time to start nickeling and dimeing this, because this is big business," Claussen said.

Hansen said he didn't see the contract reduction as a nickel and dime item, and said he didn't want to make cuts when it was going to hurt the PUD in areas like relicensing and the electric system. He said that he wanted to go through the PUD and cut out the excesses.

"What I'm trying to do is make a point that we don't just start passing these things wholesale because we've got a lot of money," Hansen said.