Comcast backs out of TV studio deal with Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD – Comcast, the town’s cable TV provider, is backing out of providing the town with a cable TV studio.The Marblehead Veterans Middle School studio and its branches at Abbot Hall and Marblehead High give students and local residents an opportunity to broadcast TV programs, including the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Town Meeting sessions, on local access Channel 10.Selectmen voted last week to approve a memorandum of understanding that ends Comcast’s role in providing that access."They want out of the studio business," Town Counsel Jeffrey Shribman told selectmen last week.The town’s Cable Oversight Committee and the committee’s lawyer have negotiated an exit strategy which requires Comcast to establish a Town Cable Access Corporation to run the studio.Comcast has agreed to pay the corporation $225,000 a year for the next two years, the remainder of Comcast’s current contract. That includes $113,000 a year for personnel and $112,000 for operating costs. Comcast will make the payments quarterly, beginning April 15.Shribman said that Verizon, which is considering Marblehead as a cable TV customer, was aware of the proposal and favored it.The town counsel saw some positives to the arrangement. "We’re in control and we get a little bit more money," he said.On the other hand, he admitted, "Two years from now if nobody coughs up the money we have no access."