{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-2108.19.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-2108.19.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-2108.19.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-2108.19.html"}],"law_id":62043,"edition_id":1,"section_id":62043,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.19","catch_line":"Definitions","history":"2006, cc. 73, 76.","full_text":"As used in this article:\n\t\t“Act” means the Communications Act of 1934.\n\t\t“Affiliate,” in relation to any person, means another person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such person.\n\t\t“Basic service tier” means the service tier that includes (i) the retransmission of local television broadcast channels and (ii) public, educational, and governmental channels required to be carried in the basic tier.\n\t\t“Cable operator” means any person or group of persons that (i) provides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system or (ii) otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of a cable system. Cable operator does not include a provider of wireless or direct-to-home satellite transmission service.\n\t\t“Cable service” means the one-way transmission to subscribers of (i) video programming or (ii) other programming service, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service. Cable service does not include any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 332 (d).\n\t\t“Cable system” or “cable television system” means any facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service that includes video programming and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, except that such definition shall not include (i) a system that serves fewer than 20 subscribers; (ii) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (iii) a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public right-of-way; (iv) a facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; (v) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric systems; (vi) any portion of a system that serves fewer than 50 subscribers in any locality, where such portion is a part of a larger system franchised in an adjacent locality; or (vii) an open video system that complies with \u00a7 653 of Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 573.\n\t\t“Certificated provider of telecommunications services” means a person holding a certificate issued by the State Corporation Commission to provide local exchange telephone service.\n\t\t“Force majeure” means an event or events reasonably beyond the ability of the cable operator to anticipate and control. “Force majeure” includes, but is not limited to, acts of God, incidences of terrorism, war or riots, labor strikes or civil disturbances, floods, earthquakes, fire, explosions, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, governmental actions and restrictions, work delays caused by waiting for utility providers to service or monitor or provide access to utility poles to which the cable operator’s facilities are attached or to be attached or conduits in which the cable operator’s facilities are located or to be located, and unavailability of materials or qualified labor to perform the work necessary.\n\t\t“Franchise” means an initial authorization, or renewal thereof, issued by a franchising authority, including a locality or the Commonwealth Transportation Board, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system, a telecommunications system, or other facility in the public rights-of-way. A negotiated cable franchise is granted by a locality after negotiation with an applicant pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.20. An ordinance cable franchise is granted by a locality when an applicant provides notice pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.21 that it will provide cable service in the locality.\n\t\t“Gross revenue” means all revenue, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that is actually received by the cable operator and derived from the operation of the cable system to provide cable services in the franchise area; however, in an ordinance cable franchise “gross revenue” shall not include: (i) refunds or rebates made to subscribers or other third parties; (ii) any revenue which is received from the sale of merchandise over home shopping channels carried on the cable system, but not including revenue received from home shopping channels for the use of the cable service to sell merchandise; (iii) any tax, fee, or charge collected by the cable operator and remitted to a governmental entity or its agent or designee, including without limitation a local public access or education group; (iv) program launch fees; (v) directory or Internet advertising revenue including, but not limited to, yellow page, white page, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing; (vi) a sale of cable service for resale or for use as a component part of or for the integration into cable services to be resold in the ordinary course of business, when the reseller is required to pay or collect franchise fees or similar fees on the resale of the cable service; (vii) revenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying goods or services used by the cable operator to provide cable service; and (viii) revenue derived from services classified as noncable services under federal law, including, without limitation, revenue derived from telecommunications services and information services, and any other revenues attributed by the cable operator to noncable services in accordance with rules, regulations, standards, or orders of the Federal Communications Commission.\n\t\t“Interactive on-demand services” means a service providing video programming to subscribers over switched networks on an on-demand, point-to-point basis, but does not include services providing video programming prescheduled by the programming provider.\n\t\t“Ordinance” includes a resolution.\n\t\t“Transfer” means any transaction in which (i) an ownership or other interest in the cable operator is transferred, directly or indirectly, from one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons, so that majority control of the cable operator is transferred; or (ii) the rights and obligations held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article are transferred or assigned to another person or group of persons. However, notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding sentence, a transfer of the cable franchise shall not include (a) transfer of an ownership or other interest in the cable operator to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (b) transfer of an interest in the cable franchise granted under this article or the rights held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (c) any action that is the result of a merger of the parent of the cable operator; (d) any action that is the result of a merger of another affiliate of the cable operator; or (e) a transfer in trust, by mortgage, or by assignment of any rights, title, or interest of the cable operator in the cable franchise or the system used to provide cable in order to secure indebtedness.\n\t\t“Video programming” means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to, programming provided by a television broadcast station.\n\t\tAll terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, shall have the same meaning as set forth in Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 521 et seq. In addition, references in this article to any federal law shall include amendments thereto as are enacted from time-to-time.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":226420,"text":"As used in this article:\n\t\t“Act” means the Communications Act of 1934.\n\t\t“Affiliate,” in relation to any person, means another person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such person.\n\t\t“Basic service tier” means the service tier that includes (i) the retransmission of local television broadcast channels and (ii) public, educational, and governmental channels required to be carried in the basic tier.\n\t\t“Cable operator” means any person or group of persons that (i) provides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system or (ii) otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of a cable system. Cable operator does not include a provider of wireless or direct-to-home satellite transmission service.\n\t\t“Cable service” means the one-way transmission to subscribers of (i) video programming or (ii) other programming service, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming or other programming service. Cable service does not include any video programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 332 (d).\n\t\t“Cable system” or “cable television system” means any facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service that includes video programming and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, except that such definition shall not include (i) a system that serves fewer than 20 subscribers; (ii) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (iii) a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public right-of-way; (iv) a facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services; (v) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric systems; (vi) any portion of a system that serves fewer than 50 subscribers in any locality, where such portion is a part of a larger system franchised in an adjacent locality; or (vii) an open video system that complies with \u00a7 653 of Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 573.\n\t\t“Certificated provider of telecommunications services” means a person holding a certificate issued by the State Corporation Commission to provide local exchange telephone service.\n\t\t“Force majeure” means an event or events reasonably beyond the ability of the cable operator to anticipate and control. “Force majeure” includes, but is not limited to, acts of God, incidences of terrorism, war or riots, labor strikes or civil disturbances, floods, earthquakes, fire, explosions, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, governmental actions and restrictions, work delays caused by waiting for utility providers to service or monitor or provide access to utility poles to which the cable operator’s facilities are attached or to be attached or conduits in which the cable operator’s facilities are located or to be located, and unavailability of materials or qualified labor to perform the work necessary.\n\t\t“Franchise” means an initial authorization, or renewal thereof, issued by a franchising authority, including a locality or the Commonwealth Transportation Board, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise, permit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system, a telecommunications system, or other facility in the public rights-of-way. A negotiated cable franchise is granted by a locality after negotiation with an applicant pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.20. An ordinance cable franchise is granted by a locality when an applicant provides notice pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.21 that it will provide cable service in the locality.\n\t\t“Gross revenue” means all revenue, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that is actually received by the cable operator and derived from the operation of the cable system to provide cable services in the franchise area; however, in an ordinance cable franchise “gross revenue” shall not include: (i) refunds or rebates made to subscribers or other third parties; (ii) any revenue which is received from the sale of merchandise over home shopping channels carried on the cable system, but not including revenue received from home shopping channels for the use of the cable service to sell merchandise; (iii) any tax, fee, or charge collected by the cable operator and remitted to a governmental entity or its agent or designee, including without limitation a local public access or education group; (iv) program launch fees; (v) directory or Internet advertising revenue including, but not limited to, yellow page, white page, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing; (vi) a sale of cable service for resale or for use as a component part of or for the integration into cable services to be resold in the ordinary course of business, when the reseller is required to pay or collect franchise fees or similar fees on the resale of the cable service; (vii) revenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying goods or services used by the cable operator to provide cable service; and (viii) revenue derived from services classified as noncable services under federal law, including, without limitation, revenue derived from telecommunications services and information services, and any other revenues attributed by the cable operator to noncable services in accordance with rules, regulations, standards, or orders of the Federal Communications Commission.\n\t\t“Interactive on-demand services” means a service providing video programming to subscribers over switched networks on an on-demand, point-to-point basis, but does not include services providing video programming prescheduled by the programming provider.\n\t\t“Ordinance” includes a resolution.\n\t\t“Transfer” means any transaction in which (i) an ownership or other interest in the cable operator is transferred, directly or indirectly, from one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons, so that majority control of the cable operator is transferred; or (ii) the rights and obligations held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article are transferred or assigned to another person or group of persons. However, notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding sentence, a transfer of the cable franchise shall not include (a) transfer of an ownership or other interest in the cable operator to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (b) transfer of an interest in the cable franchise granted under this article or the rights held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article to the parent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (c) any action that is the result of a merger of the parent of the cable operator; (d) any action that is the result of a merger of another affiliate of the cable operator; or (e) a transfer in trust, by mortgage, or by assignment of any rights, title, or interest of the cable operator in the cable franchise or the system used to provide cable in order to secure indebtedness.\n\t\t“Video programming” means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to, programming provided by a television broadcast station.\n\t\tAll terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, shall have the same meaning as set forth in Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 521 et seq. In addition, references in this article to any federal law shall include amendments thereto as are enacted from time-to-time.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15701,"edition_id":1,"name":"Licensing and Regulation of Cable Television Systems","identifier":"1.2","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13192,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:58:04","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:58:04","permalink":{"id":154459,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15701,"identifier":"1.2","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2","url":"\/15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13192,"edition_id":1,"name":"Franchises; Sale and Lease of Certain Municipal Public Property; Public Utilities","identifier":"21","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12733,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:25","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:25","permalink":{"id":154333,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13192,"identifier":"21","token":"15.2\/II\/21","url":"\/15.2\/II\/21\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12733,"edition_id":1,"name":"Powers of Local Government","identifier":"II","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","permalink":{"id":152369,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12733,"identifier":"II","token":"15.2\/II","url":"\/15.2\/II\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":62043,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.19","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/15.2-2108.19\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.19","metadata":false},{"id":70700,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.20","catch_line":"Authority to grant negotiated cable franchises and regulate cable systems","url":"\/15.2-2108.20\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.20","metadata":false},{"id":78140,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.21","catch_line":"Ordinance cable franchises","url":"\/15.2-2108.21\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.21","metadata":false},{"id":63465,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.22","catch_line":"Regulation of fees, rates and services; penalties","url":"\/15.2-2108.22\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.22","metadata":false},{"id":83742,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.23","catch_line":"Regulation of rights-of-way; fees","url":"\/15.2-2108.23\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.23","metadata":false},{"id":60433,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.24","catch_line":"Regulation of facility construction or rights-of-way management requirements for certain cable operators","url":"\/15.2-2108.24\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.24","metadata":false},{"id":70164,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.25","catch_line":"Itemization","url":"\/15.2-2108.25\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.25","metadata":false},{"id":68476,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.26","catch_line":"Reciprocity","url":"\/15.2-2108.26\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.26","metadata":false},{"id":66038,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.27","catch_line":"Modification","url":"\/15.2-2108.27\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.27","metadata":false},{"id":64460,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.28","catch_line":"Transfer","url":"\/15.2-2108.28\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.28","metadata":false},{"id":78409,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.29","catch_line":"Surrender","url":"\/15.2-2108.29\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.29","metadata":false},{"id":81245,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.30","catch_line":"Renewal","url":"\/15.2-2108.30\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.30","metadata":false},{"id":68185,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.31","catch_line":"Article construed","url":"\/15.2-2108.31\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.31","metadata":false},{"id":60147,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.32","catch_line":"Application of article to certain localities","url":"\/15.2-2108.32\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.32","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":70700,"structure_id":15701,"section_number":"15.2-2108.20","catch_line":"Authority to grant negotiated cable franchises and regulate cable systems","url":"\/15.2-2108.20\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.20","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-2108.19\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2006. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 73<\/a> and 76<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":[{"id":67753,"section_number":"56-466.1","catch_line":"Pole attachments; cable television systems and telecommunications service providers","order_by":null,"url":"\/56-466.1\/"},{"id":84760,"section_number":"56-466.2","catch_line":"Undergrounding existing overhead distribution lines; relocation of facilities of cable operator","order_by":null,"url":"\/56-466.2\/"},{"id":71418,"section_number":"56-502","catch_line":"Regulation by State Corporation Commission","order_by":null,"url":"\/56-502\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":70700,"section_number":"15.2-2108.20","catch_line":"Authority to grant negotiated cable franchises and regulate cable systems","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-2108.20\/"},{"id":78140,"section_number":"15.2-2108.21","catch_line":"Ordinance cable franchises","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-2108.21\/"}],"permalink":{"id":154461,"object_type":"law","relational_id":62043,"identifier":"15.2-2108.19","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.19","url":"\/15.2-2108.19\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-2108.19\/","token":"15.2\/II\/21\/1.2\/15.2-2108.19","dublin_core":{"Title":"Definitions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-2108.19","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

As used in this article:\n\t\t“Act<\/span>” means the Communications Act<\/span> of 1934.\n\t\t“Affiliate,” in relation to any person, means another person who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such person.\n\t\t“Basic service tier<\/span>” means the service tier that includes (i) the retransmission of local television broadcast channels and (ii) public, educational, and governmental channels required to be carried in the basic tier.\n\t\t“Cable operator<\/span>” means any person or group of persons that (i) provides cable service<\/span> over a cable system<\/span> and directly or through one or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system<\/span> or (ii) otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and operation of a cable system<\/span>. Cable operator<\/span> does not include a provider of wireless or direct-to-home satellite transmission service.\n\t\t“Cable service<\/span>” means the one-way transmission to subscribers of (i) video programming<\/span> or (ii) other programming service, and subscriber interaction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video programming<\/span> or other programming service. Cable service<\/span> does not include any video programming<\/span> provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 332 (d).\n\t\t“Cable system<\/span>” or “cable television system<\/span>” means any facility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable service<\/span> that includes video programming<\/span> and that is provided to multiple subscribers within a community, except that such definition shall not include (i) a system that serves fewer than 20 subscribers; (ii) a facility that serves only to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast stations; (iii) a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public right-of-way; (iv) a facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or in part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act<\/span> of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable system<\/span> to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video programming<\/span> directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to provide interactive on-demand services<\/span>; (v) any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating its electric systems; (vi) any portion of a system that serves fewer than 50 subscribers in any locality<\/span>, where such portion is a part of a larger system franchised in an adjacent locality<\/span>; or (vii) an open video system that complies with \u00a7 653 of Title VI of the Communications Act<\/span> of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 573.\n\t\t“Certificated provider of telecommunications services<\/span>” means a person holding a certificate issued by the State Corporation Commission to provide local exchange telephone service.\n\t\t“Force majeure<\/span>” means an event or events reasonably beyond the ability of the cable operator<\/span> to anticipate and control. “Force majeure<\/span>” includes, but is not limited to, acts<\/span> of God, incidences of terrorism, war or riots, labor strikes or civil disturbances, floods, earthquakes, fire, explosions, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, governmental actions and restrictions, work delays caused by waiting for utility providers to service or monitor or provide access to utility poles to which the cable operator<\/span>’s facilities are attached or to be attached or conduits in which the cable operator<\/span>’s facilities are located or to be located, and unavailability of materials<\/span> or qualified labor to perform the work necessary.\n\t\t“Franchise<\/span>” means an initial authorization, or renewal thereof, issued by a franchising authority, including a locality<\/span> or the Commonwealth Transportation Board, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise<\/span>, permit, license, resolution, contract<\/span>, certificate, agreement, or otherwise, that authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system<\/span>, a telecommunications system, or other facility in the public rights-of-way. A negotiated cable franchise<\/span> is granted by a locality<\/span> after negotiation with an applicant pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.20<\/a>. An ordinance<\/span> cable franchise<\/span> is granted by a locality<\/span> when an applicant provides notice pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.21<\/a> that it will provide cable service<\/span> in the locality<\/span>.\n\t\t“Gross revenue<\/span>” means all revenue, as determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, that is actually received by the cable operator<\/span> and derived from the operation of the cable system<\/span> to provide cable services<\/span> in the franchise<\/span> area; however, in an ordinance<\/span> cable franchise<\/span> “gross revenue<\/span>” shall not include: (i) refunds or rebates made to subscribers or other third parties; (ii) any revenue which is received from the sale of merchandise over home shopping channels carried on the cable system<\/span>, but not including revenue received from home shopping channels for the use of the cable service<\/span> to sell merchandise; (iii) any tax, fee, or charge collected by the cable operator<\/span> and remitted to a governmental entity or its agent or designee, including without limitation a local public access or education group; (iv) program launch fees; (v) directory or Internet advertising revenue including, but not limited to, yellow page, white page, banner advertisement, and electronic publishing; (vi) a sale of cable service<\/span> for resale or for use as a component part of or for the integration into cable services<\/span> to be resold in the ordinary course of business, when the reseller is required to pay or collect franchise<\/span> fees or similar fees on the resale of the cable service<\/span>; (vii) revenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying goods or services used by the cable operator<\/span> to provide cable service<\/span>; and (viii) revenue derived from services classified as noncable services under federal law<\/span>, including, without limitation, revenue derived from telecommunications services and information services, and any other revenues attributed by the cable operator<\/span> to noncable services in accordance with rules, regulations, standards, or orders<\/span> of the Federal Communications Commission.\n\t\t“Interactive on-demand services<\/span>” means a service providing video programming<\/span> to subscribers over switched networks on an on-demand, point-to-point basis, but does not include services providing video programming<\/span> prescheduled by the programming provider.\n\t\t“Ordinance<\/span>” includes a resolution.\n\t\t“Transfer<\/span>” means any transaction in which (i) an ownership or other interest in the cable operator<\/span> is transferred, directly or indirectly, from one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons, so that majority control of the cable operator<\/span> is transferred; or (ii) the rights and obligations held by the cable operator<\/span> under the cable franchise<\/span> granted under this article are transferred or assigned to another person or group of persons. However, notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding sentence, a transfer<\/span> of the cable franchise<\/span> shall not include (a) transfer<\/span> of an ownership or other interest in the cable operator<\/span> to the parent of the cable operator<\/span> or to another affiliate of the cable operator<\/span>; (b) transfer<\/span> of an interest in the cable franchise<\/span> granted under this article or the rights held by the cable operator<\/span> under the cable franchise<\/span> granted under this article to the parent of the cable operator<\/span> or to another affiliate of the cable operator<\/span>; (c) any action that is the result of a merger of the parent of the cable operator<\/span>; (d) any action that is the result of a merger of another affiliate of the cable operator<\/span>; or (e) a transfer<\/span> in trust, by mortgage, or by assignment of any rights, title, or interest of the cable operator<\/span> in the cable franchise<\/span> or the system used to provide cable in order<\/span> to secure indebtedness.\n\t\t“Video programming<\/span>” means programming provided by, or generally considered comparable to, programming provided by a television broadcast station.\n\t\tAll terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, shall have the same meaning as set forth in Title VI of the Communications Act<\/span> of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 521 et seq. In addition, references in this article to any federal law<\/span> shall include amendments thereto as are enacted from time-to-time.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEFINITIONS (\u00a7 15.2-2108.19)\n\nAs used in this article:\n\t\t“Act” means the Communications Act of 1934.\n\t\t“Affiliate,” in relation to any person, means another person who\nowns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or\ncontrol with, such person.\n\t\t“Basic service tier” means the service tier that includes (i) the\nretransmission of local television broadcast channels and (ii) public,\neducational, and governmental channels required to be carried in the basic tier.\n\t\t“Cable operator” means any person or group of persons that (i)\nprovides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one or more\naffiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system or (ii) otherwise\ncontrols or is responsible for, through any arrangement, the management and\noperation of a cable system. Cable operator does not include a provider of\nwireless or direct-to-home satellite transmission service.\n\t\t“Cable service” means the one-way transmission to subscribers of\n(i) video programming or (ii) other programming service, and subscriber\ninteraction, if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video\nprogramming or other programming service. Cable service does not include any\nvideo programming provided by a commercial mobile service provider defined in 47\nU.S.C. \u00a7 332 (d).\n\t\t“Cable system” or “cable television system” means any\nfacility consisting of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal\ngeneration, reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable\nservice that includes video programming and that is provided to multiple\nsubscribers within a community, except that such definition shall not include\n(i) a system that serves fewer than 20 subscribers; (ii) a facility that serves\nonly to retransmit the television signals of one or more television broadcast\nstations; (iii) a facility that serves only subscribers without using any public\nright-of-way; (iv) a facility of a common carrier that is subject, in whole or\nin part, to the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, 47\nU.S.C. \u00a7 201 et seq., except that such facility shall be considered a cable\nsystem to the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video\nprogramming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is solely to\nprovide interactive on-demand services; (v) any facilities of any electric\nutility used solely for operating its electric systems; (vi) any portion of a\nsystem that serves fewer than 50 subscribers in any locality, where such portion\nis a part of a larger system franchised in an adjacent locality; or (vii) an\nopen video system that complies with \u00a7 653 of Title VI of the Communications\nAct of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 573.\n\t\t“Certificated provider of telecommunications services” means a\nperson holding a certificate issued by the State Corporation Commission to\nprovide local exchange telephone service.\n\t\t“Force majeure” means an event or events reasonably beyond the\nability of the cable operator to anticipate and control. “Force\nmajeure” includes, but is not limited to, acts of God, incidences of\nterrorism, war or riots, labor strikes or civil disturbances, floods,\nearthquakes, fire, explosions, epidemics, hurricanes, tornadoes, governmental\nactions and restrictions, work delays caused by waiting for utility providers to\nservice or monitor or provide access to utility poles to which the cable\noperator’s facilities are attached or to be attached or conduits in which\nthe cable operator’s facilities are located or to be located, and\nunavailability of materials or qualified labor to perform the work necessary.\n\t\t“Franchise” means an initial authorization, or renewal thereof,\nissued by a franchising authority, including a locality or the Commonwealth\nTransportation Board, whether such authorization is designated as a franchise,\npermit, license, resolution, contract, certificate, agreement, or otherwise,\nthat authorizes the construction or operation of a cable system, a\ntelecommunications system, or other facility in the public rights-of-way. A\nnegotiated cable franchise is granted by a locality after negotiation with an\napplicant pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.20. An ordinance cable franchise is granted\nby a locality when an applicant provides notice pursuant to \u00a7 15.2-2108.21 that\nit will provide cable service in the locality.\n\t\t“Gross revenue” means all revenue, as determined in accordance\nwith generally accepted accounting principles, that is actually received by the\ncable operator and derived from the operation of the cable system to provide\ncable services in the franchise area; however, in an ordinance cable franchise\n“gross revenue” shall not include: (i) refunds or rebates made to\nsubscribers or other third parties; (ii) any revenue which is received from the\nsale of merchandise over home shopping channels carried on the cable system, but\nnot including revenue received from home shopping channels for the use of the\ncable service to sell merchandise; (iii) any tax, fee, or charge collected by\nthe cable operator and remitted to a governmental entity or its agent or\ndesignee, including without limitation a local public access or education group;\n(iv) program launch fees; (v) directory or Internet advertising revenue\nincluding, but not limited to, yellow page, white page, banner advertisement,\nand electronic publishing; (vi) a sale of cable service for resale or for use as\na component part of or for the integration into cable services to be resold in\nthe ordinary course of business, when the reseller is required to pay or collect\nfranchise fees or similar fees on the resale of the cable service; (vii)\nrevenues received by any affiliate or any other person in exchange for supplying\ngoods or services used by the cable operator to provide cable service; and\n(viii) revenue derived from services classified as noncable services under\nfederal law, including, without limitation, revenue derived from\ntelecommunications services and information services, and any other revenues\nattributed by the cable operator to noncable services in accordance with rules,\nregulations, standards, or orders of the Federal Communications Commission.\n\t\t“Interactive on-demand services” means a service providing video\nprogramming to subscribers over switched networks on an on-demand,\npoint-to-point basis, but does not include services providing video programming\nprescheduled by the programming provider.\n\t\t“Ordinance” includes a resolution.\n\t\t“Transfer” means any transaction in which (i) an ownership or\nother interest in the cable operator is transferred, directly or indirectly,\nfrom one person or group of persons to another person or group of persons, so\nthat majority control of the cable operator is transferred; or (ii) the rights\nand obligations held by the cable operator under the cable franchise granted\nunder this article are transferred or assigned to another person or group of\npersons. However, notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii) of the preceding\nsentence, a transfer of the cable franchise shall not include (a) transfer of an\nownership or other interest in the cable operator to the parent of the cable\noperator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (b) transfer of an\ninterest in the cable franchise granted under this article or the rights held by\nthe cable operator under the cable franchise granted under this article to the\nparent of the cable operator or to another affiliate of the cable operator; (c)\nany action that is the result of a merger of the parent of the cable operator;\n(d) any action that is the result of a merger of another affiliate of the cable\noperator; or (e) a transfer in trust, by mortgage, or by assignment of any\nrights, title, or interest of the cable operator in the cable franchise or the\nsystem used to provide cable in order to secure indebtedness.\n\t\t“Video programming” means programming provided by, or generally\nconsidered comparable to, programming provided by a television broadcast\nstation.\n\t\tAll terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, shall have the same meaning\nas set forth in Title VI of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. \u00a7 521 et\nseq. In addition, references in this article to any federal law shall include\namendments thereto as are enacted from time-to-time.\n\nHISTORY: 2006, cc. 73, 76.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}