http://citymanagermiddletown.com/2015/12/17/twc-and-tvmiddletown/

Posted: 2:00 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 3, 2016

Middletown considers future of Channel 24 after TV Middletown

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

The future of community television in Middletown remains unclear as the city has yet to say whether it will keep Channel 24 or not.

Last month, the TV Middletown board, which provided content and programming that operated on Channel 24 on the Time Warner Cable grid, gave notice to the cable television provider that it will permanently cease providing a signal on Jan. 10 citing that TVM could not depend on regular financial support as the leading reason of several reasons.

The nonprofit organization has been struggling financially for the past few years and many of its former viewers were seeking local information on social media, an outlet that TVM could not support. TVM, which launched programming 18 years ago, was required to provide 30 days notice to Time Warner Cable per its agreement.

For the past several months, TVM and city officials have gone back and forth concerning funding. The non-profit organization sought additional funding from the city to make ends meet but did not provide a financial plan that was satisfactory to city officials. TVM operated on a budget of $150,000 a year — $112,000 from the city and $38,000 from the Middletown City Schools. Middletown City Council has budgeted $112,000 for TVM in the 2016 budget.

In late September, TVM announced it was going to a social media format. It also announced the layoff of its entire 2½-person staff as well as placing its equipment and put its building 1131 Central Avenue up for sale. TVM board president Mike Scorti also requested a $20,000 loan to shutter the community television station and that it would be repaid once it sold its building.

Scorti said the end of TVM on Channel 24 is “very sad” and noted that it produced 400 programs a year. He said the TVM board is actively trying to sell the equipment and already has two prospects interested in buying their building at 1131 Central Ave.

“The building is in great shape,” he said.

Once the equipment and building are sold and the city loan is repaid, Scorti said the board is required as a nonprofit organization to distribute all funds to charities before it can dissolved.

“All good things come to an end,” Scorti said. “We did the best we could.”

City Manager Doug Adkins told Middletown City Council at its Dec. 15 meeting of the TVM board decision to end operations. At that time, he told council that he had contacted Time Warner Cable and informed them that the matter would be discussed further at council’s annual goal setting retreat that is set for Jan. 23.

Adkins was on vacation this week and could not be reached for additional comment for this story.

At the Dec. 15 council meeting, Adkins recommended loaning $20,000 to TVM assist in shuttering the community television station. He also wanted to look at the TVM’s equipment as well as getting an understanding to determine if bringing it in-house was a viable option. Adkins said the city is already upgrading the camera equipment in the council chamber.

“If it doesn’t work out, we can shut down TV Middletown or put out an RFP (request for proposals),” he said.

Adkins also said he received an unsolicited proposal from He also said that OurTownTV has submitted a proposal to pick up programming where TVM stopped. Since late October, OurTownTV began producing various community interest features that are streamed via the internet.

New proposal offers new opportunity

In his proposal, Kevin Stamper of OurTownTV was seeking a five-year contract at $62,000 a year that also included a probationary period, to provide management, production, implementation of both on demand and live stream programming via Channel 24 and through various social media avenues, including, but not limited to FaceBook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. He said that the city, community and school programming would be delivered on all devices “and no one would be left behind.”

Among the various items in the proposal that included two to five new shows per week; three to five streaming events per week; and two to four uploaded, non time-sensitive, shows per week; monthly reports on social media reaches and projections; monthly strategy and production meetings with city officials; a bi-monthly class/workshop for community content providers; and a student/community intern/apprentice program.

“With all of the new things coming (to Middletown), it’s a terrible time to lose coverage,” Stamper told the Journal-News.

“TV Middletown did a great job and we want to do those things that are now being missed.”

Stamper said he has met with Adkins and other city staff members as well as Time Warner Cable to discuss the picking up where TVM left off. He said the new OurTownTV has been getting viewers and that he has received calls for event coverage.

 

So the $112k that the city was giving to TVM was coming from funding provided annually by Time Warner by the city supposedly to provide local programming on Time Warner.

With TVM shutting down, what is the city going to do to continue to honor their end of the agreement with TW? Or maybe more to the point how long until TW pulls that funding?

TV Middletown to sign off permanently

By Ed Richter
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
TV Middletown will permanently fade into the city’s history just after its 18th anniversary.

The TV Middletown board, which has been struggling to continue operations for the past few years, voted Dec. 10 to cease all operations and permanently close the local television station.

In a letter dated the same day to City Manager Doug Adkins, TVM board president Mike Scorti said Time Warner Cable has been notified of TVM’s intentions to cease providing a signal to Channel 24 as of Jan. 10, 2016. TVM was required to provide 30 days notice to Time Warner Cable notice per its agreement.

Scorti said the decision to stop providing all services was due to many factors, citing TVM could not depend on regular financial support; many former viewers are now seeking local information via social media which was an outlet the non-profit organization could not support; and the board wanted to end operations “on a high note, leaving the community with the memory of TVM’s high quality programming.”

In late September, TVM announced it was going to a social media format. It also announced the layoff of its entire 2 1/2-person staff as well as placing its equipment and its building 1131 Central Avenue up for sale.

For the past few months, TVM and city officials have gone back and forth concerning funding. The non-profit organization sought additional funding from the city to make ends meet but did not provide a financial plan that was satisfactory to city officials. TVM operated on a budget of $150,000 a year — $112,000 from the city and $38,000 from the Middletown City Schools. Middletown City Council has budgeted $112,000 for TVM in the 2016 budget.

The city has agreed to loan TVM $20,000 to help maintain the building and cover utilities until a sale is made, Scorti said in the letter. He said once the building is sold, those funds would be returned to the city immediately.

“Thank you for supporting TVM through the years,” Scorti wrote. “We realize it is time to close TVM, like other institutions, has run its course.”

During Tuesday’s Middletown City Council meeting, Adkins said he has contacted Time Warner Cable and informed them that the matter would be discussed further at council’s annual goal setting retreat in January.

He also said that OurTownTV has submitted a proposal to pick up programming where TVM stopped. Since late October, OurTownTV began producing various community interest features that are streamed via the internet.

Adkins recommended loaning the $20,000 to TVM and also would like the city to look at the TVM’s equipment as well as getting an understanding to determine if bringing it in-house was a viable option. He said the city is already upgrading the camera equipment in the council chamber.

“If it doesn’t work out, we can shut down TV Middletown or put out an RFP (request for proposals).”

Rereading this article makes me ill.
After pouring all this money into the "Downtown Dream"  the Thatcher buildings, PAC building and grant money....how many jobs have been created in the downtown area?

"I loved the way Les Landen, law director and acting city manager, addressed the momentum he’s feeling downtown at a recent City Council meeting. He called Middletown a “vibrant and healthy community” and praised the school district for producing “great kids.”

But he wasn’t done.

He shot back at Forbes.com: “Be damned with Forbes. We are moving ahead. We are going to be around for a long time doing a lot of good things.”"

To most, it would be a terrifying feeling not to be able to get a grasp on reality, walking through life with blinders on while believing that what you say is actual truth. But then again, it is Les Landen, professional puppet, yes man, team player and chief Kool-Aid sampler for the people who dwell in the halls of denial at One Donham Plaza.

I would invite Mr. McCrabb to compare his thoughts when this article was written with the actual situation today. Look at CS and, being truthful with oneself, compare the starting numbers with the current enrollment and then consider the amount of time it has taken to start with 200 and grow to the current 700. Not very impressive, especially when it was suppose to be 5000 (later revised to 3000) in five years. Compare the downtown area as a whole from the time this article was written to the current downtown landscape. Given the timeline, do you still think there have been major strides toward any eye-opening growth? If so, your idea of progress and mine couldn't be further apart.......and then there is the ultimate rah-rah cheerleader Patrick Kay mentioned in the article.   Mercy sakes.

I like this statement from McCrabb.....

"With the addition of the students, there’s already a different feel downtown. You have to look both ways before crossing Main Street"

Yeah, 200 students will create a preverbial Times Square log jam and the criteria for success is that "you have to look both ways before crossing Main St." Did he really say that? This is the criteria for success, looking both ways before crossing a street? Are the downtown supporters that desperate in their description of what success means and in explaining the HUGE impact CS has made downtown?

Yes siree Spiderjohn you hit the nail on the head with that statement...nothing changing anytime soon.

Council will provide funding for TVM and also DMI. Its election time, and they want to appear to be frugal and fiscally responsible. A business plan will be presented, even if city council has to write it. Moon and Bohannon will become council members in November.

TVM was too agenda driven. That's why there is anger from Scorti. They supported city agenda and no help now.

The former Middie coach is doing a great job at Fairfield. 4-0 believe. A real shame TVM didn't include more of the community and input from others than spoon fed from the + happy campers.

Doesn't this reflect poorly on MMF and their ability to raise money to help new businesses and seed funding, when they can't provide TVM $20,000? Really, are they going to raise millions for new businesses and TVM comes with a hat out for a modest 20,000 transitional loan/ gift, it takes the air out of all the mass funding MMF was going to provide new businesses. Not only did TVM bail water out of the boat, they did city and school district bidding on levies and projects.

Interactive works. Brick and mortar never made much sense in a world of disruptive forces. Grab a webcam, post data online. 

I would imagine that given a choice between a dry, boring city council meeting, school board meeting, planning committee meeting, or most interviews TV Middletown had on the agenda, versus any basketball or football game, the majority of viewers would choose the latter. Instead, what we read is that they are keeping the less viewed format and discarding the programming viewed by most. It would not serve their purpose to only provide sports where their message couldn't benefit them.

They keep the meetings and interviews because it is an A/V tool to broadcast their propaganda of only "good news" while ignoring objective programming which would have offered another viewpoint. After all, the city was financing the station giving them sole discretion of programming offered and we all know there will be no conflicts or alternate opinions. They don't want to hear, nor can they handle, differences of opinion.

TVM has nearly $250,000 in assets. Sell the building, take out a 90 day note, move on.

Would like to know how they are doing a tax appeal when they never filed by the end of March of 2015 yet are on record indicating they are working with city to get a reduction. Does that mean waiting until next year?

City council, make it easy on yourselves. Imagine TVM is Sunset Poll, a historic treasure partially funded for a few years, by AKS. Then, it will make it very easy to not give $20,000 to them. Problem solved.

Updated: 5:21 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 | Posted: 3:11 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28, 2015

TV Middletown programs now online

By Ed Richter

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — 

TV Middletown programming can now be found online.

Channel 24 on the city’s Time Warner Cable grid will now only show live meetings of Middletown City Council and the Middletown Board of Education, according to Mike Scorti, TV Middletown (TVM) board president.

All other programming will be available only online through TV Middletown’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages, Scorti said.

The changes are part of the organization’s transition to a digital-only presence, as previously reported in the Journal-News.

TVM officials and the city have been going back and forth concerning funding. The local nonprofit, which has had a history of fiscal issues, recently requested $20,000 from the city to carry it through Dec. 31.

Councilman Dan Picard said council has not discussed the matter of future funding; however, he said he is not in favor of continuing funding, saying that TVM “has not provided a viable plan or business model that will work.”

Picard said there are one to two other council members who have expressed that opinion. He declined to speak for other council members or identify those who may be opposed.

“This does not mean that they can’t propose a plan that I could buy into,” he said. “It hasn’t happened yet.”

Scorti told the Journal-News today that at least three of the five city council members are opposed to providing the additional funding.

“They’re telling me “tough luck,” he said. “The city should be assisting us in the transition … It’s a sad scenario. Maybe we don’t need a TV station. But I do mind that they’re making it harder for us to go out of business.”

Councilwoman Anita Scott Jones, who represents council on the TVM Board and is supportive of TVM, said that no decision has been made and when it comes time for a vote, she will provide her input when something is presented to council.

“They have had a lot of things happen to them that has been out of their control,” she said. “TV Middletown has done great things for the community, but they have to look at other ways to present their programming. We (council) have to look at things from a budgetary perspective and watch the taxpayer’s dollars when we make decisions.”

Vice Mayor Joe Mulligan said council has not discussed the issue or have made a decision yet at its recent meetings.

“We see the value in broadcasting the Planning Commission, Council and school board meetings and other civic events,” he said. “We have to look for a way to do it in a cost effective manner.”

Mayor Larry Mulligan Jr., Councilwoman Dora Bronston and Ty Thomas, TVM executive director, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Scorti said the staff is working as volunteers and that they are in the process of selling the station’s equipment and the building at 1131 Central Ave.

They also notified the Journal-News that they will no longer be sending a weekly programming schedule.