City officials and residents expressed their support for Peabody TV at a Public Hearing of Ascertainment held by the Peabody Cable Commission, as their license for renewal with Comcast is nearly coming to an end, and the renewal process directly impacts future funding for PTV’s operating and capital expenses. PTV employees also attended to talk about their funding needs. 

“After eighteen years of operation, PTV has cemented itself as a leader in community media, and our continued accomplishments and awards have set our benchmark higher than ever before,” PTV Executive Director Camille Bartlett said in a letter inviting different city departments to the hearing to state their support for PTV. “As we approach the time of license renewal, your continued support is critically important to our mission…”

In the hearing, Bartlett also said that funding levels are dropping despite increased demands and that public access channels like PTV often find themselves undervalued despite playing a critical part in delivering news, emergency information, and tech support when COVID-19 struck.

PTV Production Manager Jim Palmer said that community media has never been more important to local municipalities and the population they serve. 

“We connect families near and far to their children’s school and sporting events,” Palmer said. “We provide transparency in local government meeting coverage, and we train local high school and college students in media production, with some of these students continuing to follow this career path.”

Palmer also said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, PTV worked on ensuring that there’s hybrid meeting coverage despite challenges. Government meeting coverage increased from an average of 14.5 hours per month to 26 hours per month, which in turn doubled the workload of PTV staff. Sports coverage also increased. Palmer added that PTV also works on community events such as graduation ceremonies.

With these increases, Palmer states that his crew needs new equipment to handle the load.

“All these productions require continued investment in our resources,” Palmer said. “As technology continues to evolve…we will need new cameras and production equipment. Our editing computers need frequent updating as well…and our broadcasting infrastructure needs to remain state-of-the-art to ensure field based audio and video signals can still reach our residents.”

Palmer also said that PTV believes that programming in all three channels needs to be featured in high definition. Right now, they are featured only on the standard definition tier. He added that in the meantime, the standard definition tier should remain accessible for residents who might not yet have HD. 

“Peabody TV has reached the limit of what our available resources can provide,” Palmer said.

Ward 3 City Councilor Stephanie Peach also expressed her support for PTV.

“As a city councilor, I hear from so many people who watch our meetings and it kinda blows my mind how many people watch city council meetings,” Peach said. “Many people that I represent live in public senior housing, and they don’t have the funds for streaming services, and they are looking for public cable TV.”

School Committee Member Jarrod Hochman expressed his disapproval over PTV not being on all levels of Comcast, and said that public access TV is important for people who work multiple jobs to make ends meet and are unable to attend public municipal meetings.

“It doesn’t mean they’re not engaged in their community,” Hochman said. “It just means that their priorities are a little different because of the realities of their circumstances. PTV affords them the opportunity to participate in their government.”

Members of other city departments, such as the Board of Health, Public Works, and Cable Commission, also came to the hearing to express their support. Business owners, residents who are not part of any boards, and a teacher at the Higgins Middle School also came to share their stories of how PTV has positively affected them. Mayor Ted Bettencourt also read letters of support. 

The last license renewal occurred in November 2015; the next one will be in November 2025.