SOUTH HOLLAND, IL – In September, Comcast Cable issued a press release noting the “tremendous growth” of On Demand, the company’s signature video-on-demand service, which the company claims has surpassed “three billion program views since 2004.”Apparently, none of those views have come from South Holland, IL, where a clause in a franchise contract that Comcast inherited from the area’s previous service provider (AT&T Broadband) prevents the company from delivering On Demand to its customers in the tiny suburb of Chicago.
According to NBC5.com, the website for Chicago NBC affiliate station WMAQ, South Holland resident Lisa Kozlowski was told the reason Comcast’s On Demand signal is blocked in the village is to prevent citizens from watching adult content available through the service.
When she contacted village authorities to ask why she could not access the On Demand service, “They told me, ‘You can’t watch porn in South Holland,’” Kozlowski told WMAQ.
“I said, ‘That’s censorship,’” Kozlowski added. “I said, ‘You’re censoring us.’ And he goes right back to this franchise agreement over and over.”
According to WMAQ, the franchise agreement includes a provision stating “Franchisee shall not allow or make available for viewing any film rated ‘X’… or any channel which is primarily devoted to films that are obscene under community standards.”
Harvey Grossman, legal director of the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union told WMAQ the franchise agreement isn’t valid.
“The contract can’t waive the Constitution,” Grossman said. “This kind of censorship – and it clearly is censorship – raises very serious constitutional issues.”
South Holland officials released a statement reading, in part, “In keeping with the prevailing community standards and the long established values associated with our motto of faith, family and future… the village has franchise agreements that protect these standards and values.”
That answer doesn’t make much sense to Kozlowski, who told WMAQ “I don’t care about the porn. I don’t want to watch the porn. I just want On Demand.”
Interviewed by WMAQ, Comcast noted that all households that receive the On Demand service can control what channels and content are available through built-in parental controls. Comcast also said it would very much like to offer On Demand in South Holland, and the company is simply complying with the terms of the franchise agreement inherited from AT&T Broadband.
While officials in South Holland said they continue to encourage Comcast to come up with a means to deliver On Demand without adult content, the ACLU indicated its interest in handling the case, should a South Holland resident approach the organization with a complaint.
