Pocono News Section

Scranton's Public Access TV Channel goes off the air!

Scranton's Public Access TV Channel goes off the air! - Monday, June 30, 2008 at 1:59PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo WYOU TV News
Monday, Jun 30, 2008 @ 01:59pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY

Scranton's Public Access TV Channel went off the air Monday morning as a new operator prepares to take over the broadcasting facility.

Earlier this year Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty accepted the recommendation of a committee which studied proposals from three organizations interested in operating the public access channel. The committee picked a proposal submitted by a new group, Electric City TV, over ones submitted by Scranton Today, the former operator, and another submitted by a group backed by the Scranton Taxpayer's Association.

Public Access Channel 61 is carried by Comcast Cable Television as part of its franchise agreement with the city of Scranton. The channel has been used extensively for broadcasts and repeate broadcasts of public meetings such as Scranton City Council, the Scranton Taxpayer's Association, and County Commissioners.

A spokesman for ECTV says the channel will continue to broadcast public meetings but will attempt to include other local cultural programming as well. Additionally, ECTV plans to open its facilities to people who want to learn how to use Public Access equipment to produce their own programing.

ECTV said its programming would begin with a taped replay of the July 1st meeting of Scranton City Council.