Can we easily opt out of our television contract?

Not an answer to your exact question, but I think first you need to determine

a) What service is being provided? (Basic cable television? Internet?)
b) How much do your residents depend on it?
c) Are you getting a good rate from your provider?
d) Does your contract permit them to raise rates like that?

I would be most concerned about b) above. It’s not impossible that you’ve had a large number of residents quietly consuming basic cable for years - until it disappears and then you’ve got a ton of people upset because they’re missing their GMA.

BillD

I would estimate over 30-40% of people do not utilize cable. I’ve asked people and this seems to be a good estimate so far. It’s basic cable with some additional channels.
The rate is lower than what you would pay individually, but not by much.

I would theorize that most owners would rather a lower HOA rather than paying for cable.
They are always able to purchase it directly from Comcast if that’s the case.

I don’t see the point though if I pay for cable and never using it. I’m essentially paying so that somebody else can get a slightly lower rate.

A 44 unit building. And yes, we do have a channel dedicated for a mail-room/entry-way view.

Thanks for the technical advice, I'll definitely interest myself in that.

As for the contract, I'm confident I can end that as soon as it expires; However, what I'm concerned about is if there are other "constraints" keeping us from foregoing cable altogether like governing documents.

It is not included anywhere in the CC&R's.

We're a condo building too, Tony and the HOA isn't required by our documents to provide cable to residences.

It's a contract, so getting out of it may or may not be easy - that's why attorneys were invented, so you may want to run this past him or her.

Years ago when cities were being wired for cable, I remember many companies made exclusive deals to where Comcast or whoever wired the entire city and that’s what you were stuck with. I believe our community has the same requirement, although I don’t think it’s enforced by anyone these days. In fact, I think various communities did away with that, especially after everyone started to get satellite TV. And now, everyone’s going to streaming services, so it’s a matter of finding an internet provider you can afford and is available in your area.

In your case, you might want to start with polling the community to see what they’d like to do – and show them the numbers so they can make an informed decision. If everyone says get rid of it, do it and do some checking to see if canceling the contract would impact services in general (e.g. would you have to pay for different wiring – I’m not a techie and don’t live in a condo building, so I don’t know what’s required). It may be the threat of cancellation may compel Comcast to negotiate a deal that would cost the community less money – or they can offer special discounts if people stick with them after the contract is canceled. I wouldn’t make any moves until the end of the year so people will have time to make arrangements.