Do Not Adjust Your Set

So far, says cable consortium attorney Beecher, TCI hasn't exactly put out the welcome mat for his clients. "They have not expressed much willingness to negotiate or communicate with us," adds Beecher, who says he plans to pressure TCI to "live up to its commitments."

Beecher says cities typically lose money on cable deals, despite collecting hefty annual franchise fees from the cable company. The costs associated with maintaining the cable right-of-way--everything from inspection requirements to directing traffic while cable crews dig trenches across busy streets--add up to much more than the 5 percent of gross revenues cable companies typically pay cities where they do business. In fact, according to one estimate, cities get back only about 13 percent of what they spend to accommodate cable systems.

Even so, TCI may wind up calling most of the shots in contract disputes. That's because the only real recourse cities have is to cancel their franchise agreements, a procedure that under federal law is painfully laborious. Even if a city does manage to can TCI, its only reward would be pulling the plug on the company's signal, a move that would leave viewers without their MTV, their HBO or their ESPN. The resulting outcry could make dueling with TCI look like child's play.

TCI's Lejuste says her company is busy plotting its next move but doesn't plan to make its deliberations public. And up in Westminster, where the rebuild hadn't started yet anyway, Gary Casner says he's in no hurry to call TCI on the carpet. Until he knows more about the company's plans, he says, "I don't see any sense in getting real upset. I have yet to see anything come out from them that they haven't taken back at least once."

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