225. Rates. 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, and by federal law and regulation, the rates charged by a cable television company shall be those specified in the franchise which may establish, or provide for the establishment of reasonable classifications of service and categories of subscribers, or charge different rates for differing services or for subscribers in different categories.
2. Such rates may not be changed except by amendment of the franchise.
3. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, (a) no rate provision in any franchise shall bind a municipality for more than ten years and no rate provision in any renewed franchise shall bind a municipality for more than five years. In the event that an existing franchise purports to bind a municipality with respect to rates for a period to expire after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-three, such provision shall have no further force or effect after January first, nineteen hundred eighty-three; and (b) any rate or rates found by the commission, after public notice and opportunity for hearing, to be discriminatory or preferential as between subscribers similarly situated shall thereafter be void. Reduced rates or free service to government, educational or charitable institutions shall not be considered unduly discriminatory or preferential.
4. In the event the commission finds that any rate is discriminatory or preferential pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section or that any cable television company is in violation of an order issued by the commission pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four of this article requiring adequate service, it may issue an order requiring the municipality and the cable television company to provide for new rates which are nondiscriminatory or nonpreferential or reduced to reflect the inadequate service, as the case may be.
5. In addition to other powers, the commission may, after public notice and opportunity for hearing, prescribe rates for cable television service whenever:
(a) existing rates have been found discriminatory or preferential and, after reasonable opportunity, the municipality and the cable television company have not provided for new rates which are nondiscriminatory or nonpreferential, as provided in subdivision four of this section;
(b) a cable television company is in violation of an order issued by the commission pursuant to section two hundred twenty-four of this article requiring adequate service and, after reasonable opportunity, the municipality and the cable television company have not provided for new rates reduced to reflect the inadequate service, in which case the commission may require appropriate rate reductions;
(c) having reduced rates pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the commission finds that the cable television company has substantially remedied the deficiencies, in which case the commission shall return the rates to those rates stipulated in the franchise;
(d) upon complaint by any interested party and after reasonable opportunity for negotiation between the municipality and the franchise, it finds that rates are not established by or pursuant to the terms of the franchise, in which event, the commission shall fix rates at a level comparable to rates fixed in comparable franchises requiring comparable service for comparable service areas; and
(e) upon request by a municipality and cable television company that the commission prescribe applicable rates, made in such manner as the commission by regulation may prescribe and certifying that they are unable to agree upon rates to include any franchise or renewal thereof, in which event the commission shall fix rates at a level comparable to rates currently being fixed in cable television franchises for comparable service in comparable service areas; provided that if the municipality and the company thereafter agree upon rates, such rates shall become effective.
6. Any cable television company may initiate a civil proceeding within the appropriate courts of this state to collect any rates, charges, or fees duly imposed in accordance with applicable law, or to enjoin the procurement or reception of cable television services from the facilities of such cable television company without its consent, or to enjoin the sale or distribution, to anyone other than the provider of a telecommunications service for its own use in the provision of its service, of any electronic decoder or descrambler, a principal function of which defeats a mechanism of electronic signal encryption, jamming or individually addressed switching imposed by such company to restrict the delivery of its service and to seek appropriate monetary damages for such procurement or reception of cable television services, or the sale or distribution of such equipment. Upon a showing by a cable television company in such a proceeding that such cable television service has been obtained without its consent, or that such equipment has been offered for sale or distribution to anyone other than the provider of a telecommunications service for its own use in the provision of its service, such cable television company shall be granted an injunction prohibiting the continuation of such practices and, upon a showing by such cable television company in such a proceeding that such cable television service has been obtained under circumstances evincing a knowledge that such service would be obtained without payment of the proper charges therefor, or that such equipment has been offered for sale or distribution, such company may be awarded such monetary damages and such punitive award as the court in its discretion shall deem to be just and appropriate for the purposes of this subdivision, (a) every cable television company is deemed to have consented to the attachment to an authorized outlet of its facilities by a cable television service subscriber of such company, of one television receiver which is type-accepted by the federal communications commission; and (b) the phrase "electronic decoder or descrambler, a principal function of which defeats a mechanism of electronic signal encryption, jamming, or individually addressed switching imposed by such company to restrict the delivery of its service" shall not include any television receiver type accepted by the Federal Communications Commission. No person shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute to anyone other than the provider of a telecommunications service for such service provider's own use in the provision of its service any electronic decoder or descrambler, a principal function of which defeats a mechanism of electronic signal encryption, jamming or individually addressed switching imposed by a cable television company to restrict the delivery of its service. The proceeding authorized by this subdivision shall be initiated and conducted pursuant to the provisions of the civil practice law and rules.
Last modified: February 3, 2019