• Target: Lower Merion Commissioners
• Sponsored by: Lower Merion & Narberth Public Access Television (PATV)

Dear  Commissioners of the Township of Lower Merion,

We the undersigned ask that you support equality among the three Public, Education, and Government Access (PEG) Television channels by ensuring equal distribution of the Grant provided by Comcast and Verizon under their respective Lower Merion Cable Franchise Agreements.

By federal law (the Communications Act), all cable operators must support the local PEG Access Television channels by donating a Grant, within the Cable Franchise Agreement, for the exclusive purpose of helping the PEG channels.

 The current Lower Merion Comcast Cable Franchise Agreement, which expires in 2011, applies the Grant only to the Government Access channel. The new Comcast Agreement should ensure equal distribution of the cable operator Grant to all three PEG channels, which are the Public Access channel operated by the residents on Comcast 99 and Verizon 34, the Education Access channel operated by the School District on Comcast 6 and Verizon 36, and the Government Access channel operated by the Township on Comcast 7 and Verizon 37.

 In other municipalities across the US, the Public Access channel often receives a larger portion of the PEG Grant because it is the only PEG channel that is managed by the residents and that operates without a tax-base revenue like the School District and Township channels. In the spirit of equality among the PEG channels, we ask that you partition the Comcast and Verizon Grants equally, with each PEG channel receiving one third. And, to ensure equal protocol in administering the Grant for both Franchises, we ask that the new Comcast Grant provision reflect the language of the existing Verizon Grant.

 As a Commissioner, you will be proud of being among the Lower Merion Board that put in place equal opportunity for all three PEG Access channels giving parity to all voices in our Township.

As a resident of Lower Merion, I thank you.