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June 24, 2010 - 9:43pm

WestCAT Live Feed

by Dave Atkins

WestCAT is now providing an experimental feed from the control room. The meeting below is a taped meeting of the Planning Board...or it might be the bulletin board...or it might be an ad for the video server company. "Experimental" is the key word here...

Read more about it on DaveWrites

December 3, 2009 - 7:53am

Happy with Comcast?

by Dave Atkins

Westwood residents will have a once in 10 years opportunity to express their concerns and needs related to Comcast's cable service next Wednesday, December 9 at 7:30pm as the Board of Selectmen hold an Ascertainment Hearing...

The purpose of the hearing will be to review the performance of one of the cable television operators in Westwood, Comcast during its current license term and to hear testimony on future cable-related needs and interests of the Westwood community.

I'm testifying briefly about WestCAT--Westwood Community Access Television. We've recently hired a project manager to build out our basic broadcasting capabilities and take over management of the signal from Comcast within the next few months. We plan to set up more complete and effective coverage of board meetings and work with community groups to quickly establish a dramatic improvement over the almost-always blue screen and often sometimes inaudible meeting coverage on channel 8. Also, once we have control of the signal, we will be patching in to Verizon, bringing public meeting coverage to all Comcast and Verizon subscribers in Westwood.

One of our big challenges is that although we have safeguarded years of funding paid by Verizon and Comcast to the town--creating a respectable capital reserve that will allow us to purchase the equipment we need--the current fee structure results in an annual operating budget of less than $35,000 per year. Many towns have negotiated agreements with the cable providers to allocate 3-5% of subscriber fees to community access. In Westwood, we get 1%.

I did some quick internet research on "ascertainment hearings" and found some interesting links:

The bottom line is that the purpose of the hearing is for our Selectman to hear from residents what their needs are...this will help them prioritize issues in the ongoing negotiation with Comcast.

January 15, 2009 - 8:54am

Westwood Community Access Television

by john.craine

A contributor to this blog commenting on the post about the last Board of Selectmen's meeting raised some very important issues about cable coverage of these and other town meetings. The good news is that something is actually being done to address these shortcomings. Westwood Community Access Television, Inc. (WestCAT), a not-for-profit 501(c)3 corporation, was incorporated in April, 2008 to manage the implementation and operation of Westwood's public, educational and government access programming. It is overseen by a seven member volunteer board of directors comprised of town residents and is independent from town government.

The mission of WestCAT is to promote and enhance community access television content to Westwood residents via cable and online channels in order to support an informed and active citizenry, increase the transparency and quality of civic decision making, deepen understanding of local issues of importance and promote civility in public dialogue, while respecting the rights to free speech and creative expression.

WestCAT's efforts to date have focused on establishing an operational plan and identifying a location for necessary equipment and business operations. We hope to have a location finalized in coming weeks. Several months thereafter, Comcast will install our connection to their network and we can begin programming. We anticipate being up and running during the summer of 2009. Until then, unfortunately, we have no control over the scheduling of programming on Comcast 8.

We are and will continue to be a largely volunteer organization for the foreseeable future. If you or someone you know is interested in helping us please use the contact form on westwoodblog to send a message to the editor, Dave Atkins, who is also an officer of the nonprofit corporation. Right now we could use some pro bono accounting and tax prep services.

~

John Craine, President

Westwood Community Access Television, Inc.

 

March 12, 2008 - 9:06pm

Update: WestCAT Incorporated

by Dave Atkins

Back in January, I reported on the town board charged with getting public access TV started in Westwood. It's official, Westwood Community Access Television, Inc. has been formed and will be meeting later this month to start work on bringing community access TV to Westwood. The days of the blue screen on Comcast 8 are numbered!

January 30, 2008 - 10:15am

Community Access TV for Westwood

by Dave Atkins

Members of the selectman-appointed Westwood Public Access Cable board met Tuesday night and agreed to create a nonprofit corporation, Westwood Community Access Television, Inc., to bring Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) programming to Westwood.

One of the significant challenges for ongoing operation of community access television in Westwood will be the current revenue structure based on franchise agreements with Comcast and Verizon. Westwood receives a 1% revenue share from cable subscribers which translates into approximately $30,000 annually. The franchise agreements also provided significant capital/infrastructure funds and, in the case of Comcast, built out the town's internal high speed fiber network which connects all schools and public buildings. Moving forward, the challenge is to determine the best use of existing capital funds to set up an operation that can be operationally viable.

The other major challenge is location. The committee felt that building out a studio and hiring staff is premature until the needs of the community are more completely understood. Initially government meetings and education programs could be broadcast without the need for a studio. And community programs--such as coverage of school sports, public events such as debates and meetings, could be done on location.

All these issues will challenge this new nonprofit--which technically has not even been incorporated yet. As things progress, check back here for updates...

December 13, 2007 - 11:04pm

Public Access Cable TV for Westwood

by Dave Atkins

Currently, viewers of Comcast channel 8 in Westwood are treated to hours of blue screen and the occasional Finance Committee meeting or Board of Selectman meeting. But the town is creating a board to begin the process of setting up real public access TV in Westwood that will eventually enable residents to create, produce, and broadcast their own content. I will be serving on this board and looking to gather input and suggestions as we plan how to make this happen as soon as practical. More updates to follow as I learn more; in the meantime, please feel free to comment with suggestions and ideas here!

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