GREAT BARRINGTON — When
Time Warner Cable eventually takes over Adelphia Cable locally, the New England
Patriots will continue to be broadcast in Southern and Northern Berkshire,
according to a Time Warner official.
"We already carry WFSB out of Hartford," said Peter M. Taubkin, vice president of government relations and public
affairs, who works out of the company's Schenectady office. "We don't see this as
an issue." WFSB-TV is the CBS affiliate that carries Patriots' games. On
Monday night, following an extended discussion, the selectmen voted 5-0 to
allow the transfer of the town's cable license from Adelphia to Time Warner.
At the request of Linda Miller, a member of the town's Cable Advisory Board,
the selectmen also voted 5-0 to pass a resolution to request that Time Warner
retain a service facility in one of the four member towns of Lee, Lenox,
Stockbridge and Great Barrington. There is presently a service facility in Lee.
"There is a provision for a local office in the contract," said
Miller. "But our definition of local may not be the same as Time
Warner's." Miller said she was aware that a town resolution would probably
not stand up in court, but added that she believed the town should go on record
for advocating for a service facility in Southern Berkshire.
Officials in other towns had expressed concern for retaining broadcast access
to area pro sports teams, including the Patriots and Boston Red Sox. Time
Warner also carries the New England Sports Network, which is the flagship
station for the Boston Red Sox, said Taubkin.
"We are well aware of the interest in those teams."
The issue with Adelphia was that Adelphia did not carry WFSB-TV locally.
Officials from Adelphia eventually worked out a deal with WFSB to broadcast
Patriots' regular season games. Taubkin said that he
does not see that as a problem with his company. "(WFSB) is already
offered," said Taubkin.Time Warner recently agreed to purchase the
financially-strapped Adelphia Cable. The final takeover is probably a year
away, according to Time Warner officials.
Regarding the service facility, Adelphia representative Jerry Buckley told the
selectmen that he did not see things changing in SouthCounty in the foreseeable future. "The
fact is, you have a certain amount of customers that require service, and you
have a certain amount of technicians that need to be available to provide that
service," he said. "None of that has changed."
Buckley said he could not speak definitively to the future, "but in my
opinion, there will be no change." But Fletcher Fischer, Assistant Business
Manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1228, which
is presently negotiating a contract for the Adelphia technicians in Lee,
attended the meeting and noted to the selectmen that he did not believe the
service needs of Southern Berkshire could be met by a facility in Pittsfield or Albany. His union was also concerned about
the fate of the staff at the Lee facility, he said. "If that site closes,
you have people out of work," he said.
