Video Franchise and PEG Revenues, 2007-2009

Editor's Note: The statewide video franchise law passed by the N.C. General Assembly in 2006 benchmarked ongoing funding for PEG channels at 2006 levels. For Asheville and Buncombe County, this funding is represented by a "PEG Fee" paid by every cable subscriber under the city and county franchises.

In 1998, the City of Asheville signed a franchise renewal with Intermedia (later sold to Charter) that included a $340,000 capital grant for the public access channel, plus annual “ongoing support” of $45,000 or $.20 per-subscriber, whichever is greater.

In 2002, Buncombe County signed a franchise renewal with Charter that included a $340,000 capital grant for the public access channel, plus annual ongoing support of $80,000, or $.20 per subscriber, whichever is greater. The county negotiated an additional $.23 per subscriber (roughly $91,000 in 2002) “to support public programming.”

With passage of the 2006 law, the state began collecting all video franchise and PEG fees statewide – plus fees from satellite video services. These franchise fees, including PEG fees benchmarked at 2006 levels, are then returned to local governments.

Following are the total video franchise revenues received by the City of Asheville and Buncombe County since enactment of the 2006 law:

Source: N.C. Department of Revenue