U.S. Mayors want to take cable operators out of the equation when it comes to deciding how Public, Educational and Government (PEG) channels use their money, which comes from franchise fees.
At its annual meeting earlier this month, the mayors agreed on a resolution asking Congress to change the law that now requires those monies to be used only for capital expenditures and not ongoing operations unless a franchisee agrees.
They argue that restriction on the use of PEG money has led to the closing of more than 100 PEG access centers—where the community can produce programming—and to hundreds of PEG channels going dark in the last decade.
The mayors argue that PEG channels are the "primary vehicle" for localism by supplying "vital local government information, educational content, civic and cultural information and religious and political expression to residents in local communities across America."
