Minnetonka City Council Okays Closure of Comcast Studio

It appears the public access studio in Eden Prairie will close.

A new agreement with Comcast was approved unanimously last night that includes the closing of Comcast-owned studio.

The current franchise agreement was put in place 15 years ago and expired at the end of July. The deal will be completed in August (and the studio will close Aug. 31) if all member cities agree. Cities included in the Southwest Suburban Cable Commission are Minnetonka, Hopkins, Edina, Richfield and Eden Prairie.

Edina, Hopkins and Eden Prairie have approved the agreement. Richfield plans to grant final approval this month.

The studio is not without its supporters. A handful of residents appeared at the meeting to speak in support of it.

Minnetonka City Manager Geralyn Barone pointed out that federal laws have changed. Comcast no longer is mandated to provide an access studio, and it would be closed regardless of the agreement.

"I would not dispute the richness of the programming that has been talked about here tonight– I don't think that's in dispute," she said. Barone added that Comcast will provide play-back services for one more year, which will give the commission time to discuss new options.

The commission’s needs assessment demonstrated that the studio was significantly underutilized, and the commission decided the studio should close.

, a producer at the studio, thanked the council (the only council out of the five) for hosting a public hearing on the issue.

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