City of Yuma asks residents to file comments in Spectrum case

Subscribers of Charter Spectrum cable have been without local coverage from KYMA, KSWT and Estrella TV for more than two months.

The City of Yuma filed a formal complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on March 15th. The city is asking residents to file their own concerns with the FCC.

“The city is anxious to help get this resolved. That’s really all we want is to just get it resolved because we have citizens who aren’t being served,” said Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls.

Spectrum cable subscribers in Yuma and El Centro have been without access to KYMA, KSWT, and Estrella TV since February 2nd.

The blackout comes amid a contentious fee dispute between Spectrum and Northwest Broadcasting which owns the local channels.

Nicholls said Spectrum cable failed its customers. One of the reasons an FCC complaint was filed against Spectrum cable.

“They’re supposed to provide notice before turning off channels and that did not happen. And just the overall general customer service of what they’re supposed to provide and how they’re supposed to make changes to that hasn’t really happened.”

Charter Spectrum in a statement said:

Charter did not violate the FCC’s notice requirements to customers or local franchise agreements because the removal of northwest broadcasting tv stations – KYMA, KSWT and Estrella TV – was not in our control but rather was a result of Northwest Broadcasting no longer authorizing Charter to carry its stations. As soon as Northwest terminated its authorization for Charter to retransmit the broadcast signal, Charter notified affected customers.

Nicholls said the FCC file is now open and that it’s an opportunity for residents to have their voices heard.

“I’m going to be encouraging people to express their opinions. I’m not telling them one way or another what they should say or what they shouldn’t say. But just to be honest and put on there what’s working and what’s not working. So the FCC can fairly evaluate the situation.”

To file a public comment go to https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings

It’s important to have the proceedings number 18-9. The complaint will auto-populate. From there you follow the application and file your comment.

“It’s not really the city of Yuma. It’s really the people of Yuma who own the right of way. And so they just need to be represented in the process.”

Nicholls is asking other cities affected by this blackout to join them in filing FCC complaints against Charter Spectrum cable.