And Take an Inexpensive Video Course
Excerpted From Marketing With Digital Video by Hal Landen
Public access stations are created when a cable company negotiates a franchise agreement with a local government. Not all franchise agreements include these public access channels. Some have access channels just for local governments where you can watch town meetings and other government functions.
Others are educational e.g. a school district with its own channel. Another kind is local origination, where the cable company serves the community by producing local news and sports shows. The public access channels, sometimes called Community TV, are the kind which allow citizens to produce and broadcast their own shows.
The mission of these public access channels is to encourage the widest spectrum of local programming and to provide ordinary citizens with access to the tools for producing this programming. These channels can be a great resource. For instance, the New York Staten Island Community TV channel offers a 20 hour video production course for $60 that’s open to anyone in Staten Island. You won’t find a better price anywhere. In addition, they offer studio or location production and editing packages.
Each community has it’s own rules about what can air and what can’t, but most require that the programs be non-commercial. According to Lance Armstrong, the Outreach Director at for Staten Island Community TV, a business could produce an informational show about their industry as long it’s not a sales program. Ask your own access channel about their requirements.
There are over 1000 public access stations across the country. You can find a list of Public Access Stations here or call your local Cable TV company. If your town does not have a public access channel, look into other nearby cable systems. The residency requirements are not always carved in stone. Sometimes all you need is a local resident to sponsor you. You’ll find that the public access people try hard to be accommodating.
Does a sponsor for public access TV
need insurance protection (liability Ins)?
Also, do you need a license to sing religious
karaoke songs on public access TV
Thank you for your reply
Hi Rosalyn,
These are both questions you should ask your local public access station. They control what happens
at their station. They make the rules you will have to abide by.
Hal
I need to find the nearest contact to arrange programing for Public Access TV near Kendall/Miami Florida area.
Thank
See the list of public access stations mentioned in the article above.
http://www.videouniversity.com/directories/public-access-stations
Are you able to produce a program containing advertisements from local businesses?
No. Most, if not all of them, prohibit commercial messages, but if you talk to them, they may have suggestions.
I have two quick questions. I live in a town where Cox Cable provides a Educational Channel and a Government Channel, but no Public access Channels. Do you have any suggestions how I can persuade cox to create a public access Channel. I am in the process of obtaining funding for equipment, but I have nowhere to broadcast it. Second question. Prism has now started a network in my city. Do they have to follow the same FCC guidelines and provide a Public Access channel? Thank you so much for your time
I would gather some like-minded people who’d also like to see a public access channel. Ask at your town hall who would be the right person to talk with about this and tell them you have a group of people who’d like to have a public access channel. You might want to approach Cox first and see what they say. As I understand it, the town and the cable provider make a deal on whether to have a public access channel.
As far as Prism, I’d ask your town officials about that. Just asking may propel it forward. In either case, you’ll have to be proactive and help make it happen. It’s probably within your power to do so.
Let us know what happens.
Good luck.
Who owns the rights to programming shot in a public access studio?
Can I as a producer sell my content if I produce it at a public access studio?
Or can I rent the pa studios to produce my content for main stream distribution?
hello friends i need help i want to play my live stream on local cable how can i do that if anybody have idea please inbox me
I have been staff at a Public Access Channel since 1984. The listing as posted in incomplete. Check with your local government to see if an access channel is available. The rules are different with each channel and the amount of flexibility within the rules is also different, bottom line talk to your local channel you will be surprised at how much they can do for you.
Thanks for your comment, Glenn. We have only included the public access channels, not the government or educational channels.
Can I say every weird thing I want to say on public access?
That includes oddities, like movements and religions will only keep a control freak on its mission to build and hand over money, while thinking it’s had a victory. Wars and media are only generated to produce stock market gains.
But people taking all the cash from everyone will build a colony on the moon at least, then mars potentially. However then satellite sound open and close holes through the atmosphere to remove all the oxygen, and be able to comeback and rebuild on earth as well? After they seal the holes in atmosphere back up. So it’s only the takers of the money behind the scenes, that can remake an earth without the religions and movements?
I want to tell that story, because even if it has been told. People just keep raging like it will be forever. It’s not going to be, eventually the collapse will happen and they won’t exist to know in sentience. It just will be what is built after the rebuild.
I think that’s important to know, so people can enjoy living themselves while it lasts. Instead of just running program rigs out in them.
Or even if I’m wrong, and it seems and looks like I’m not. It’s still nice to hear and drop the designs to enjoy oneself while one can. Positive statements.
You will need to approach the people at your closest Public Access station. They each have their own rules so I would read the rules before making a proposal.