WHAS-TV to stay; city council introduces basic cable TV rate increase

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015, 11 p.m. — Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS-TV 11 will remain on the City of Bardstown cable system following the City Council’s approval Tuesday night of a new three-year agreement.

WHAS had asked the city for what had been termed a significant retransmission rate hike. The city had negotiated lower rates for other Louisville TV stations, but not with WHAS — prompting the city to threaten to drop the station from its line-up.

Melissa Filiatreau speaks to the Bardstown City Council about the rising costs of a cable TV subscription.

Jeff Mills, city electrical engineer, told the council that the demand for higher retransmission fees was “a money grab” by greedy network affiliates. “It was important for us to push back” against the proposed rate hike, he said.

Several cable subscribers attended the meeting and to voice support for keeping WHAS TV or dropping the station entirely off the system. Melissa Filiatreau asked the council to hold the line on cable rate increases — even if it meant dropping WHAS. A year’s worth of cable TV adds up to more than $700 a year. The extra cost of keeping WHAS “is not a lot of money per month, but over time it adds up.”

CABLE RATE HIKE APPROVED. The new retransmission agreements increase the costs of programming, and these costs are being passed on to subscribers.

The council gave first reading to an ordinace that will raise the monthly cost of basic cable TV each year for the next three years. Basic cable includes channels 2 through 22 and channel 116, and is the least expensive cable TV package available.

Beginning Feb. 1st, basic cable subscribers in the city limits will see their monthly bill jump $2.41, from $16.45 to $18.86. That rate will increase to $19.76 in 2016 and $20.79 in 2017.

A basic cable TV subscription outside the city limits will increase $2.14, from $21.20 to $23.14 per month. In 2016 the rate increases to $24.51 and to $25.54 in 2017.

For HT Xtreme subscribers, the monthly cost of this HD tier will increase by $3.95, from $6.95 to $10.90 per month.

The council will give the rate hikes final approval at its next council meeting on Jan. 27.

In other business, the council:

— approved contracts for HBO and Cinemax, but tabled approval of a contract for HBO and Cinemax OnDemand services;

— approved the following appointments: Jim Kelley to a three-year term on the Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist Commission; Scott Frank to a two-year term on the joint city-county recreation board;

— approved reappointing Sheila Osborne to a three-year term on the Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist Commission and Sarah Hardin Ballard to a three-year term on the Historical Review Board.

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