Agreement between City and Time Warner gives NYC cable customers refund and rate reduction.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 1996--Time Warner Cable announced today that it has signed an agreement with the City of New York to resolve long-standing rate disputes that will result in an immediate refund credit of $5.60 to Time Warner's 1,072,000 residential customers in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and a reduction of 20 cents in their monthly basic service. Also, as part of the agreement, Time Warner Cable This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. will give customers, beginning in November, a choice of three free pay-per-view movies or a free month of a premium service they do not currently have. "We're very pleased by this agreement, which is a win-win for everyone, especially our customers," said Richard Aurelio, president of the Time Warner New York City Cable Group. "Our customers will receive an immediate refund credit on their monthly bill, a monthly rate reduction and other benefits, and both the City and Time Warner will avoid regulatory and court proceedings that could take years to resolve. "The City also has agreed to take steps to take action; to move in a matter. See also: Step to withdraw as a petitioner in a legal action against the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. (FCC (1) (Federal Communications Commission, Washington, DC, www.fcc.gov) The U.S. government agency that regulates interstate and international communications including wire, cable, radio, TV and satellite. The FCC was created under the U.S. ) challenging the FCC-Time Warner 'social contract' which is an integral of Time Warner Cable's future telecommunications strategy," Aurelio said. That FCC-Time Warner agreement provides for a $4 billion upgrading of Time Warner's cable systems throughout the U.S., making possible enhanced services to customers and schools and an annual rate cap on the FCC-regulated Standard Service. Aurelio said that Time Warner Cable and the City have had "honest differences" over interpreting highly complex FCC regulations involving rates dating as far back as September, 1993, and he added: "We are gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. that the City and we have worked through these differences to resolve them in a cooperative manner that, above all, benefits our customers in many ways." The City's Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications has adopted a Rate Order resolving the long-standing rate disputes. It covers the wholly-owned Time Warner Cable systems in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as well as the QUICS QUICS Quarterly Income Capital Securities and Staten Island Cable systems which are managed and 50% owned by Time Warner. The one-time cash refund of $5.60 will be shown as credits on customer bills starting in August. Those same bills will include the rate reduction of 20 cents per month on basic service going forward. The in-kind program of benefits to customers will be offered beginning in November. Under that program, customers will be given the choice of one month free premium channel that they do not currently have or three free pay-per-view movies. The available premium services are HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy , Showtime, Cinemax, the Movie Channel or the Disney Channel. A special 800 number will be set up for customers to take advantage of this offer, which has no cash redemption value. Customers will have at least six months until May 31, 1997 to order whichever benefit they desire. Based on the 1,072,000 residential customers in the Time Warner NYC NYC abbr. New York City NYC New York City systems, the cash refunds are worth $6 million. The in-kind program providing free pay-per-view movies or a free month of a premium channel has an estimated value of at least $10 million, according to Time Warner. CONTACT: Time Warner, New York R. Aurelio, 212/522-6301 |
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