Town, KCAT reach agreement with AT&T over switch from Channel 6
$95,000 settlement could be used to buy equipment
It's called a 'moral victory'
By Nathan R. Huff
Local community access station KCAT tentatively settled its suit against telecommunications giant AT&T, winning a "moral victory" according to station manager George Sampson. However, the settlement cannot be finalized until Saratoga's own community-access station, KSAR--which is part of the same suit against AT&T/TCI--reaches a settlement of its own.
Under the terms of the agreement, KCAT would not return to the coveted Channel 6 position it previously held, but the town of Los Gatos, which brought the suit against AT&T/TCI on KCAT's behalf, will receive $95,000 for telecommunication services. AT&T will also provide $10,000 worth of cable advertising to promote KCAT at its new location on Channel 15. The agreement also stipulates that if AT&T/TCI wants to bump KCAT to a new channel in the future, it will have to pay the station $150,000.
"[With $95,000] we can buy a lot of equipment and produce a lot of programming for the town of Los Gatos," Sampson said, following the settlement. He added that while no one is completely happy with a settlement like this, the town and the station felt as if the deal was the best they were going to get.
AT&T/TCI communications director Andrew Johnson said that the company was prepared for a long legal battle, but settling offers a better alternative for all parties, including the consumers. "We were more than willing to take it that far," Johnson said. "But you should always explore ways to avoid that, and that's what we did."
The settlement should end a seven-month saga which started when AT&T/ TCI announced it would be using the FCC "must carry" law to bump KCAT off Channel 6 in an effort to make all the company's Bay Area cable channels uniform. San Jose-based KICU holds the Channel 6 position in most of the Bay Area.
The town filed suit against the cable company, challenging the impending station switch, and arguing that the 1996 franchise agreement the town made with TCI guaranteed KCAT's Channel 6 position. Channel 6 is a premium station location because it is situated between two national network franchises. Despite the town's suit, the station switch went forward on Sept. 22, 1999.
KCAT lacked the deep pockets for a dragged-out battle with the corporate giant, Sampson said, which made the settlement that much more acceptable. While the $95,000 will go to the town, not directly to the station, Sampson felt confident the Town Council would put the money back into KCAT.
Linda Lubeck, town councilwoman and president of the KCAT board, explained that the money would go to the town because it held the franchise agreement with TCI. "However," she said, "the council has every intention of spending the money, somehow or another, on the station." Lubeck added that some people were advocating a portion of the money be used to set up equipment to broadcast council meetings.
Lubeck said the board was also satisfied with the settlement. "I think we did as good as we were going to do," she said.
For Sampson, the settlement marks the end of a turbulent time for the station, and he said he's happy to have the case behind them. He credits town attorney Orry Korb and Barry McCarthy, an attorney who worked on the town's case pro-bono, as being instrumental in settling the dispute.
Korb, who said he couldn't comment on the case until KSAR settles. However, he also praised McCarthy, a Los Gatos attorney who specializes in public utility issues.
"When questions arose regarding KCAT's involvement in the case, I couldn't advise because [the town and KCAT] are two separate agencies," Korb said. "Barry, at my request, was kind enough to step in and help out."
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
