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Cable TV Advisory Committee

Meeting Minutes

Hingham Community Access and Media

Committees: Cable TV Advisory Committee

2009 Annual Report

The Committee began 2009 by completing the negotiation of a 10-year renewal license with Comcast. For the Town, the most important features of the new license are Comcast’s agreement to continue to maintain the Town’s I-NET for another ten years, and the transfer from Comcast to the Town of the responsibility for providing public, educational, and government (“PEG”) access programming for Town cable subscribers. The I-NET, which was built (and is owned) by Comcast as part of the 1999 cable license, is the electronic “glue” that holds the multitude of Town departments and offices together, from the Library to Town Hall to Public Works to the Fire Department, and more. Comcast’s agreement to maintain the I-NET for another ten years is tremendously valuable to the Town and will save the Town a great deal of money that would otherwise have to come out of the General Fund.

Until April 1, 2009, Comcast provided public and government access programming and broadcasting for Town subscribers over Channel 10 from its Norwell studio, which was shared by four other towns. Educational access is provided from Hingham High School over Channel 22 (Verizon channel 29) using equipment that was provided to the Town by Comcast under its 1999 license. The cost of the Norwell studio and public and government access programming over Channel 10 was included in Comcast’s rates, but was not separately stated on the bills. Comcast closed its Norwell studio this year and as part of the renewal license agreed to provide the Town money to fund equipment and operating expenses so that the Town can provide PEG access programming itself. The Committee negotiated the amount by first analyzing what it would cost the Town to continue to provide the same services Comcast had been providing (level services), and then negotiating an amount that would permit maintenance of level services for Town subscribers. The Committee also negotiated a third channel, to be used for public access, to give the Town more flexibility and to permit it to separate government and public access. The operating portion of these funds is now separately stated on Comcast bills, which is now permitted by federal law. The Committee estimates that, combined with comparable fees from Verizon, the operating funds will total between $200,000 and $300,000 annually. The Town began broadcasting over Channel 10 from Town Hall on April 1, 2009, but the equipment Comcast provided for this purpose failed in June, and broadcasting of Channel 10 ceased.

The Comcast license agreement signed by the Town requires that the Town provide public, government, and educational access. It further provides that by mid-August, 2011, the Town must: (1) schedule, operate and program the PEG access channels; (2) manage the annual funding provided by Comcast; (3) purchase, maintain and/or lease equipment for PEG operations; (4) conduct training programs in the skills necessary to product PEG access programming; (5) provide technical assistance and production services to PEG access users; (6) establish rules, procedures, and guidelines for use of the PEG access channels; (7) provide publicity, fundraising, outreach, referral and other support services to PEG access users; (8) assist PEG access users in the production of video programming of interest to subscribers, and issues, events, and activities, and (9) accomplish other tasks relating to the operation, scheduling and management of the PEG access channels, facilities and equipment. The Town agreed to use its best efforts to provide these facilities and services prior to the August 2011 deadline.

The Committee prepared for the Selectmen an equipment budget to replace the Channel 10 equipment, to upgrade the recording equipment in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, to update some of the aging Channel 22 equipment at the High School, to wire other rooms in Town Hall to permit broadcasting of other Town committees, and to broadcast Town events, both at Town Hall and in other venues. This was presented to the Selectmen on July 1, 2009. The Selectmen approved the proposal subject to review of the capital expenditures by the Capital Outlay Committee. Over the summer, the Committee made presentations to the Capital Outlay Committee, which approved the expenditures piecemeal, until by late fall, all had been approved.

Cuts in the 2009-2010 Hingham High School Library Media budget resulted in the loss of time available for the Educational Access Director to spend on channel 22/29. The Committee was able to recruit two volunteers to help with Educational Access, but this continues to be a challenge.

During the course of the year, the Committee investigated several options for replacing the Norwell studio. We visited a number of local public access studios, including Plymouth, Hull, Weymouth, and Dedham. We met with representatives from Norwell, Marshfield, and Hanover to explore possibilities for a regional studio, and we spoke to representatives from Cohasset about regionalization possibilities. We looked at a number of possibilities in Hingham where a studio (regional or local) might be located. We rejected the several commercial properties we considered, as being either too expensive or too remote. We also looked at a number of Town properties, including Bare Cove, the Country Club, the Library, and the Tree & Parks Building. Of these, we concluded that the most viable locations for either a local or regional studio are the Hingham Library and the Tree & Parks Building, both of which are conveniently located on Route 228. These locations have the added advantage that if the Town creates a non-profit corporation to run public (and possibly government) access, the corporation could rent one of these Town-owned buildings for a studio at market rates, thus returning money to the General Fund. We met with the Library Director and Trustees, and await a decision on the rental availability of the Tree & Parks Building.

On October 6, 2009, the Committee presented the Selectmen with three options for meeting the Town’s obligations to provide public and government access under the Comcast contract. (Educational access would continue to be provided by Hingham High School.) The low service option would provide the required training, filming, editing, and broadcasting of Town events, and broadcasting of some original public-produced programming, but mainly broadcasting of free programming that is available from a number of sources. A part-time employee would be required. The medium service option would, in addition, expand the possibilities for broadcasting resident-produced content, using (if and when available), studio facilities in other towns. The Town would have to pay for the use of these other studios. A full-time employee would be required. The high service option would require a production facility and additional personnel. While a production facility is being built, low and medium service could provide content for the public access and the government access channels.

The Committee presented its vision for public access to the Selectmen on October 6, 2009, as well. As explained to the Selectmen, the Committee envisions a vibrant community-focused media production operation that will serve as an information hub for the Town. The production expertise that Town residents will be able to acquire will become a resource for Hingham groups to share broader information with the Town’s citizens and will enable them to educate the citizenry about their missions, projects, events, and more. Mobile equipment will enable coverage of a vast array of community events, some even broadcast live. A production facility will not only enable residents to exercise their creativity to produce original programming, but will allow the Town to produce broadcast-quality media for creating public service announcements, making training videos, filming emergency bulletins, and communicating directly with the community. The long-term effect will be to ensure that the Town has the local talent and facilities to generate its own digital content, foster greater community involvement and communication, and create an historical record of Town opinion and events in a digital medium suited for the 21st century.

Shortly before the end of the year, the Selectmen approved 10 hours a week for an existing Town part-time IT employee to operate Channel 10 and the new public channel out of Town Hall. The Committee prepared a job description for the employee, and the employee was trained on the new equipment. With the equipment that was approved in 2009, the Committee looks forward to more robust government and public programming in the coming year.