Capital region residents can tune into a new television channel
that specializes in local programming. Capital Area Media Television
(CAMTV) launched last week, and things have been going great according to Deborah Guthrie, regional channel coordinator.
CAMTV is broadcast on channel 30 for
Comcast customers and channel 99 for
AT&T U-verse customers. The first program was a live broadcast of the
Centers for Regional Excellence’s
statewide conference. Guthrie says it was quite an honor for the
channel’s first program to feature a speech by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
“You can’t beat that, right?” says Guthrie. “It has been great and everything is running smoothly.”
While Guthrie says the channel will not show municipal meetings, it will specialize in local topics, including work from
Michigan State University (MSU) and
Lansing Community College (LCC) students and also coverage of the
Capital City Stealth,
Lansing’s minor league football team.
No
new staffers were hired during the launch process, but Guthrie says
that remains a strong possibility for the future. There is also an
ongoing application process for local residents, nonprofits and schools
to submit shows to be played.
Guthrie says she
is still working out the numbers for an idea of the annual budget, but
CAMTV currently receives about $15,000 per year from Comcast and
AT&T for programming fees, matched with a $25,000 grant from the
Centers for Regional Excellence program.
Source: Deborah Guthrie
Writer: Andy Balaskovitz
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