Netflix, Hulu in Growing Fight With Cities Over Streaming Money

A legal clash over whether cash-strapped towns can charge Netflix and Hulu local franchise fees, treating them much as they have cable TV companies for decades, is coming to a head as Americans cut the cord in favor of streaming video entertainment.

“Every small town knows they have deep pockets,” David Brunori, a professor of public policy at George Washington University, said of the video streaming services. “And these companies are saying: ‘Bring it on.’”

Class-action suits filed this summer on behalf of towns and counties in Kansas and New Jersey pushed to 13 the number of states where localities ...