The Lubbock City Council gave approval for the City of Lubbock to enter into a contract with “specialized” legal counsel to help through “lengthy” litigation with Netflix, Inc., Hulu LLC and Disney DTC LLC, which are accused of not paying franchise fees required by video service providers for use of public rights-of-way.
Lubbock joins 25 other Texas cities that filed a lawsuit in District Court in Dallas County in August, claiming the streaming services owe franchise fees that cable companies and others pay as required under Texas Utilities Code to use public streets, easements, alleys and other public rightsof- way for wires and other connectivity purposes.
According to Kostelich, in the State of Texas that’s typically five percent of gross revenues. Franchise fees make up 12.5 percent of the City of Lubbock’s general fund revenue. It’s estimated that will be a total of $33 million this year.