Monona's franchise-fee revenue falls; community media expands sponsorships

City finance staff told the Finance and Personnel Committee that the cable TV/media fund is showing a sustained decline in franchise-fee revenue, and that the city is seeing lower quarterly receipts this year. The presenter said the first two quarters of 2026 average about $17,600 per quarter, compared with a historical average around $23,000 per quarter, producing a discernible shortfall for future budgets.

Committee members asked how multi-unit housing packages and streaming services affect fee reporting. Staff responded that the city relies on quarterly reports from corporate cable entities (Charter and others) for franchise-fee calculations, and that bundling or inclusion of services in rent makes local impacts harder to track. The presenter also acknowledged community media efforts: "WVMO and community media have been really working hard at generating other revenues... sponsorships and all kinds of other things" to help maintain programming quality despite fee declines.