BULK-SUBSCRIPTION TV

A building-wide bulk subscription – in which most or all of a co-op or condo's residents subscribe to the same basic cable or satellite service in exchange for lower monthly fees – isn't itself a new idea. But the concept now includes TV, telephone and Internet delivery-services that barely existed a few years ago. And many boards remain unaware of an open secret among cable-TV providers – that some pay "revenue-share" fees to encourage boards to sign-up residents.

Time Warner, for instance – New York City's largest TV provider, with exclusive cable-franchise rights for Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and a sliver of Brooklyn – "has a marketing agreement where if you achieve certain penetration levels, they will pay the co-op or condo a fee on a quarterly basis," says building manager Paul T. Brensilber, president of Jordan Cooper & Associates. "I think the first hurdle is at 70 percent [of apartments] and that's regardless of whether the building already has Time Warner cable [TV]. They're looking for access and a way to promote their other services, like RoadRunner," its high-speed, broadband Internet service. (The city's cable franchises grant exclusivity for cable-TV only, not for telephone or Internet.)

Other companies offer similar arrangements. RCN (Residental Communications Network), which delivers TV via digital fiber-optic cable in Manhattan and Queens, has "a revenue-share marketing fee that we pay if we're allowed to market in the building and the building helps us with that," says Tony Ontiveros, the company's regional director of sales and operations. "It's worked into negotiations; not every building qualifies. By 'help' I mean recommend our service, or let us know their peak move-in season and let us set up lobby events where we demonstrate our service and answer questions."

Cablevision, which has the cable franchise in the Bronx and most of Brooklyn, is "a little more conservative than RCN and Time Warner," says a spokesperson. "We do have special marketing arrangements where we incentivize the landlords or co-op boards [when there is one] above an 80 percent penetration, we'll give them X amount of dollars. But we don't publicize it; it's based on relationships and our history with the building."

Billing arrangements are usually flexible. "We can send the board or the managing agent one bill for all the users, or bill each individual user," says Victor Cruz, Time Warner's vice president of special markets, "or we can send what's called a 'master bill' for the basic service, and then send individual bills to users for ancillary services like HBO."

The trade-off, no matter what company you go with, is that the co-op or condo guarantees payment. If a resident opts out, or sells the apartment to someone who wants to go with a different company, the co-op or condo is liable for the monthly fee regardless. "The property owner or the co-op board or condo association guarantees payment, and in return we offer them the discount," says Cruz.

Some find such guarantees worrisome. Recalls Caryn Gilbert, board member when her co-op, The Hamilton, at 330 West 145th Street, was considering a Time Warner bulk subscription: "We looked into getting a reduced rate for the building and decided against it. The co-op was liable should individual residents default on their payments, and if a resident decided to discontinue Time Warner, the co-op was required to pay out the rest of that person's contract. It's possible there are larger co-ops that don't have that problem or issue. We're only 77 units, so the risk was too great."