BuckeyeBlog

With the news today that Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has signed video franchise reform legislation (making Missouri the twelfth state to enact such reform), it reminds me that I have been negligent in not noting that similar legislation (SB 117) has been introduced in Ohio.

This bill would end the practice whereby companies desiring to offer video service (such as cable television or television through fiber optic lines) must go to each municipality it wishes to serve and obtain a separate franchise agreement. This process is cumbersome, time consuming, and expensive for these companies. That means that they usually only do this in heavily populated areas, leaving much of the state without much choice in terms of which company provides its video service. That lack of choice translates into higher prices for consumers.

Of course, local municipalities don’t like such reform legislation. They like the current system, which allows them to extract a variety of goodies from video service companies (free cable service to all city buildings, for instance). They also like the fact that they have the power over whether or not these companies operate. Under SB 117, the state would receive that authority.

In states where similar legislation has been passed, consumers have seen the benefits of lower prices and more choices. The Buckeye Institute will be exploring this issue in more detail as this process continues.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 1:29 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.