§ 66-357. Availability and use of PEG channels.
§ 66‑357. Availabilityand use of PEG channels.
(a) Application. Thissection applies to a person who provides cable service under a State‑issuedfranchise. It does not apply to a person who provides cable service under anexisting agreement.
(b) Local Request. Acounty or city must make a written request to a cable service provider for PEGchannel capacity. The request must include a statement describing the county'sor city's plan to operate and program each channel requested. The cable serviceprovider must provide the requested PEG channel capacity within the later ofthe following:
(1) 120 days after thecable service provider receives the written request.
(2) 30 days after anyinterconnection requested under G.S. 66‑358(a)(1) is accomplished.
(c) Initial PEGChannels. A city with a population of at least 50,000 is allowed a minimum ofthree initial PEG channels plus any channels in excess of this minimum that areactivated, as of July 1, 2006, under the terms of an existing franchiseagreement whose franchise area includes the city. A city with a population ofless than 50,000 is allowed a minimum of two initial PEG channels plus anychannels in excess of this minimum that are activated, as of July 1, 2006,under the terms of an existing franchise agreement whose franchise areaincludes the city. For a city included in the franchise area of an existingagreement, the agreement determines the service tier placement and transmissionquality of the initial PEG channels. For a city that is not included in thefranchise area of an existing agreement, the initial PEG channels must be on abasic service tier, and the transmission quality of the channels must beequivalent to those of the closest city covered by an existing agreement.
A county is allowed a minimumof two initial PEG channels plus any channels in excess of this minimum thatare activated, as of July 1, 2006, under the terms of an existing franchiseagreement whose franchise area includes the county. For a county included inthe franchise area of an existing agreement, the agreement determines theservice tier placement and transmission quality of the initial PEG channels.For a county that is not included in the franchise area of an existingagreement, the initial PEG channels must be on a basic service tier and thetransmission quality of the channels must be equivalent to those of any citywith PEG channels in the county.
The cable service providermust maintain the same channel designation for a PEG channel unless the servicearea of the State‑issued franchise includes PEG channels that areoperated by different counties or cities and those PEG channels have the samechannel designation. Each county and city whose PEG channels are served by thesame cable system headend must cooperate with each other and with the cablesystem provider in sharing the capacity needed to provide the PEG channels.
(d) Additional PEGChannels. A county or city that does not have seven PEG channels, includingthe initial PEG channels, is eligible for an additional PEG channel if it meetsthe programming requirements in this subsection. A county or city that hasseven PEG channels is not eligible for an additional channel.
A county or city that meetsthe programming requirements in this subsection may make a written requestunder subsection (b) of this section for an additional channel. The additionalchannel may be provided on any service tier. The transmission quality of theadditional channel must be at least equivalent to the transmission quality ofthe other channels provided.
The PEG channels operated by acounty or city must meet the following programming requirements for at least120 continuous days in order for the county or city to obtain an additionalchannel:
(1) All of the PEGchannels must have scheduled programming for at least eight hours a day.
(2) The programmingcontent of each of the PEG channels must not repeat more than fifteen percent(15%) of the programming content on any of the other PEG channels.
(3) No more than fifteenpercent (15%) of the programming content on any of the PEG channels may becharacter‑generated programming.
(e) Use of Channels. Ifa county or city no longer provides any programming for transmission over a PEGchannel it has activated, the channel may be reprogrammed at the cable serviceprovider's discretion. A cable service provider must give at least a 60‑daynotice to a county or city before it reprograms a PEG channel that is not used.The cable service provider must restore a previously lost PEG channel within120 days of the date a county or city certifies to the provider a schedule thatdemonstrates the channel will be used.
(f) Operation ofChannels. A cable service provider is responsible only for the transmissionof a PEG channel. The county or city to which the PEG channel is provided isresponsible for the operation and content of the channel. A county or city thatprovides content to a cable service provider for transmission on a PEG channelis considered to have authorized the provider to transmit the contentthroughout the provider's service area, regardless of whether part of theservice area is outside the boundaries of the county or city.
All programming on a PEGchannel must be noncommercial. A cable service provider may not brand contenton a PEG channel with its logo, name, or other identifying marks. A cableservice provider is not required to transmit content on a PEG channel that isbranded with the logo, name, or other identifying marks of another cableservice provider.
(g) Compliance. Acounty or city that has not received PEG channel capacity as required by thissection may bring an action to compel a cable service provider to comply withthis section. (2006‑151,s. 1.)