Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Los Angeles franchises got an 11th-hour
extension, which will allow the company to continue operations under the current
municipal agreement for another 45 days.
The company's five franchises would have expired Aug. 2. Negotiations on
refranchises, launched before financial irregularities were revealed, did not
conclude by the expiration date for the five areas' 15-year franchises.
To gain the extension, the company made good on its second-quarter
franchise-fee payments, giving the city a check for $1.7 million by the July 31
deadline. Adelphia will also put $2 million into an escrow account pending the
resolution of a dispute over back franchise fees.
An audit by an independent firm hired by the city asserted that the company
underpaid by $3.3 million.
Adelphia denied the underpayment, and it is seeking an audit of the city's
audit. But the company agreed to the escrow account as a 'good-faith gesture,'
according to a spokesman for the city attorney's office.
Adelphia representatives continue to negotiate with the city's Information
Technology Agency on a long-term refranchise.
