FARMINGTON — More live streaming of ball games and selectmen meetings is one pursuit Mt. Blue Community Access TV wants to undertake this year.

Already operating on a shoestring budget, the station hopes to make these opportunities more accessible to viewers and garner more community support to help offset the all-time low of franchise fees.

“We are facing a transitional year,” Director JP Fortier said.

The focus is now on the internet and websites, he said. Improvements made to Mt. Blue’s website have resulted in lots more traffic, he said.

Subscribers with Beeline Cable are down to less than 1,400 in Farmington and Wilton. The loss means less income from franchise fees to help with the station’s budget, he said.

Public access television, like Mt. Blue Community Access TV, was created by the Federal Communications Commission to allow the general public the opportunity to create their own television programming, which is typically broadcast over cable stations, according to an online definition.  

“MBTV has a fully equipped TV studio, and provides instruction in camera operating procedures,” according to the website. “Our knowledgeable staff is here to train you to film, produce and air shows.” 

But people tend to see the station more as a community television station that is there to provide coverage, he said.

The station has already started a live stream of Tom Saviello’s “Talkin’ Maine.”   But it is like the tree falling in the woods — no one is around to hear it, he said. The station hopes to change that by serving the community more through the website in addition to the cable television station.

New shows are being aired or created, including the radio talk show, “Healthbeat,” provided by the Healthy Community Coalition, and shows featuring the Senior Resource Center. Filmed in the studio, these can be viewed on the website or Channel 11 on cable, he said.

Fortier recently presented the station’s 2017 budget to select boards in Farmington and Wilton. Franchise fees dropped about $2,000 since 2015 in both towns. These are not taxpayer funds but fees paid by Beeline Cable to the town for use by Mt. Blue television, he said.

The budget proposes more sponsorship and media services. More local businesses are sponsoring live streaming of Mt. Blue basketball games, he told Wilton selectpersons.

The station is working to add an online fundraising option to the website to allow individual viewers the ability to support what they are watching. The feature is similar to GoFundMe fundraising, which opens support up to the general public, not just cable subscribers, he said. 

“If the budget goes any lower, services will have to be cut,” he said. “We used to be able to live off franchise fees but not anymore.”

The budget is down from last year to $98,104 for 2017. A station coordinator position has been eliminated for the time being, he said. Fortier hopes another steady stream of income will help reinstate the position.

Use of Quickbooks online has helped reduce time spent on accounting. Funds were shifted to expand live streaming and more funding for equipment, including a new camera this year.

The staff is reduced to Fortier; an on-call station assistant, Victor Cormier; a freelance cameraman and a couple work-study students.

“We’re building up the governing board,” he said. Current members have expertise in different areas to help keep the station operating. Stan Wheeler continues as president. Other board members include Rick Davis from WKTJ, Joshua Michaud from Expenet who helps with technical issues, Shelly Lowell from Skowhegan Savings, who helps with marketing and Becky Jasch is working on grant writing, he said.

But, community support is needed, Fortier said.

This year, the station moved from Merrill Hall on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington to Roberts Learning Center, also on the campus. 

It is better space and on ground level, Fortier said.

A studio, created in the 1970s for television classes, moved to the Computer Center and the studio was used for storage, he said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

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