FPB Approves Viacom Deal

After weeks of negotiations, the Directors of the Frankfort Plant Board agreed to terms with Viacom and will keep the 18 Viacom owned channels on the FPB Cable lineup.

The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) represented FPB and approximately 800 other cable providers and their over 5 million subscribers. Viacom originally asked the NCTC members for a 100% increase. After tense negotiations and multiple deadline extensions, a deal was reached for an increase of just under 35%.

Terms were made available to the FPB Board of Directors late last week and Wednesday, April 9, the Board held a special meeting to vote on the agreement.

During the special Board meeting, a public hearing was scheduled for the regularly scheduled meeting of the Directors on May 20, 2014 to discuss a modest, potential cable rate increase. This increase would be a partial pass through to customers as a result of the Viacom increase.

FPB Board Chairman Ralph Ludwig said the increase to the customers is unfortunate, but an unavoidable cost in this day and age of cable TV. “A few large companies own a majority of the cable networks and this structure makes it difficult to avoid these increases. The media companies hold all of the cards.” Ludwig continued, “FPB, being a not for profit, municipal utility, is able to pass along less of an increase than most providers. We hoped that the increase from Viacom would be smaller, but the NCTC was able to get the price to a lower level.”

Viacom owns many popular networks including Comedy Central, MTV, BET, VH-1 and TV Land, but Board members heard from many customers that wanted one channel in particular. “Nickelodeon is one of the most popular channels in our lineup and many customers voiced their concern over potentially losing this programming that is tops for kids. We are glad it is still part of the FPB lineup” said Ludwig.

During negotiations, FPB customers were kept informed through a special website created by the NCTC. TVOnMySide.com was linked from FPB’s website and had regular updates and information.

Ludwig made this final comment about FPB and the NCTC, “We want our customers to know that we negotiate these contracts with them in mind:  our goal is to secure the programming at the most reasonable cost.”

Boil Water Advisory Canceled

The Water Department of the Frankfort Plant Board is notifying you that the Division of Water of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection has now canceled the Boil Water Advisory.

This Advisory was issued 4/7/14 due to the loss of pressure in the water main caused by Plant Board crews disconnecting the old water main.

The streets affected were:

• Elizabeth St
• Patricia St from Elizabeth St to Butler St
• 935 & 941 Georgetown Rd

If you should have any questions or problems with normal service or water quality please call 352-4372 or 352-4433

Interruption of Water Service

On Monday 04/7/14 there will be an interruption of water service from 8:30 A.M. until 10:00 P.M. in the following areas:

• Elizabeth St
• Patricia St from Elizabeth St to Butler St
• 935 & 941 Georgetown Rd

Immediately following there will be a Boil Water Advisory.

A vigorous boil for at least two minutes is recommended. This Boil Water Advisory is a precautionary measure due to a loss of pressure in the water main caused by Plant Board crews disconnecting the old water main.

This Advisory will remain in effect until lab analysis of water samples taken confirms that the potable water supply in the affected area is safe to drink. You will receive a notice when the advisory is lifted.

If you have any questions concerning the Boil Water Advisory, please call 352-4372 or 352-4433

Viacom Negotiations Wrapping Up

“FPB should get the final terms of the agreement from Viacom and the NCTC sometime later this week.”

The long negotiation process between Viacom and FPB’s representatives at the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) has ended. The negotiations wrapped up Tuesday.

FPB should get the final terms of the agreement from Viacom and the NCTC sometime later this week. Then, the FPB Board of Directors will consider the offer and make a decision to accept the deal, under the negotiated terms, or to not accept the terms and remove the networks from the FPB Cable lineup.

Until a final decision is made by the FPB Board of Directors, the 18 Viacom networks will continue to air on the FPB Cable lineup.

Viacom Update 6:30pm

Negotiations are moving forward and the latest extension now runs until 6:00 PM EDT, April 1, 2014. We are not receiving the notices from Viacom as timely as hoped, so we again apologize for the late notices. We expect to receive hourly extensions through the next few hours until the agreement can be completed.

Viacom Update at 3:15 PM

Negotiating with Viacom continues.

Viacom Update

Viacom has granted an extension  to 7:00 am EST

Viacom Grants Extension

Viacom has granted an extension  to 6:00 am EST

Update: Viacom Extension

4/1. 1am- Viacom has granted an additional 1 hour extension  to 2:00 am EST

Shore Acres Rd. Boil Water Advisory Canceled

The boil water advisory issued yesterday for Shore Acres Rd from 357 Shore Acres Rd to the end of the line, has now been canceled.

The Water Department of the Frankfort Plant Board is notifying you that the Division of Water of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection has now canceled the Boil Water Advisory.

This Advisory was issued 3/30/14 due to the loss of pressure in the water main caused by Plant Board crews repairing a water main break.

The streets affected were:

Shore Acres Rd from 357 Shore Acres Rd to the end of the line.

If you should have any questions or problems with normal service or water quality please call 352-4372 or 352-4433.