A day after Adelphia Communications Corp. erroneously broadcast "Desperate Housewives" in Spanish to 175,000 Los Angeles cable customers, City Council members rebuked its regulators for the slow pace of negotiating new contracts -- which they said could improve service.
The city's cable regulatory agency was the subject of a highly critical audit in May by Controller Laura Chick, saying that Los Angeles had delayed negotiating new contracts with cable providers since 1999 and missed opportunities to require better service from the companies.
Officials with the city's Information Technology Agency said they began negotiations with cable companies in July but were unsure when they would be finished.
This was met with looks of consternation from some council members on the audit and government efficiency committee, who said they couldn't believe it was taking so long.
"It takes the city multiple years, then it becomes a joke because it doesn't happen," said Councilman Tom LaBonge. "Who is the point person who says, 'Hey ... you can't go home ... until we work this out' ?"
He added that updated cable contracts could bring in more money for the city than the existing 18-year-old agreements.
The debate comes several months after the city approved one of the nation's strictest consumer protection rules covering cable service. The rules allow the city to impose fines and place limits on how long customers can wait on the phone for service. City officials said they receive about 2,000 complaints a year about cable service.
The latest issue to draw customers' ire was the transmission of "Desperate Housewives." Adelphia said that the cause of Sunday night's broadcast in Spanish was traced to an equipment failure that erroneously picked up KABC TV's simulcast of the popular show -- which is supposed to be aired on a secondary audio programming channel -- and fed it into the primary English-language broadcast.
While City Council members were unaware of that problem, officials said it's the ongoing complaints about poor cable service that underscore the need to quickly renegotiate the contracts, which were negotiated in 1987 and expired in 2002.
"We made it clear [to the agency] that we only have leverage [to demand better service] when we have an agreement," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who noted that she was told in 2002 that negotiations were about to begin. "I think the city needs to take a stronger position to make those companies accountable."
