Franklin TV is an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. We operate the local access TV studios for Franklin. We produce local TV programs on three channels:
- Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 8, Verizon 26).
- Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel (Comcast 96, Verizon 28).
- Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 11, Verizon 29).
We are Franklin’s local TV channels on Comcast and Verizon, but we do not provide cable TV service.
Background
The Town of Franklin is the Local Franchise Authority (LFA) that maintains agreements with Comcast and Verizon cable TV providers.
Franklin TV’s funding comes from a 4.8% access fee on cable service that cable subscribers pay via these agreements.
Franklin TV does not rely on government taxes. Franklin TV pays a PILOT fee (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) to the Town of Franklin by agreement. We are the first nonprofit organization that pays for town services.
As an IRS 501(c)(3) charitable organization we also may receive grants and donations from contributors.
Local Programming Produced in 2015
During our 2015 operating year we generated:
- 217 Public Access Programs
- 95 School/Sports Programs
- 19 School/Civic Events Programs
- 96 Government Meetings
- 427 Locally Produced Programs
All of these programs were produced, recorded and edited by our staff on behalf of Franklin residents, organizations, agencies and local government. Our extensive production support reaches beyond the customary charter of other public access studios to lend equipment and provide technical training. This additional commitment of professional support enables us to provide a broader range of programs
In addition to programming, Franklin TV offers free community announcements on our Bulletin Board for all three P/E/G channels. Nonprofit organizations who wish to promote their meetings, special events and activities are welcome to contact us.
Our Studios and Offices
We have five thousand square feet that houses two video studios (a large drive-in access studio and an interview studio), two audio recording rooms, four digital video editing/effects systems, and our offices.
We also have general purpose Community Meeting Space available – free to qualified nonprofit groups and service organizations for occasional meetings. Our facility accommodates up to 30 people.
After some years of effort, we finally succeeded in arranging for Comcast to upgrade our PEG channels connection to digital fiber. We are now connected by our own private fiber directly to the Comcast Milford Network Operations Center (NOC). This noise and distortion free connection was installed in April at a cost to us of $30,000. This digital upgrade retires the obsolete Comcast analog RF iNet link that experienced regular signal outages and interference.
Our Interview Studio
Franklin TV has two studios. Our smaller studio is an excellent facility for staging and recording interview and discussion programs. In 2015 this room was transformed with five all-digital displays that provide fully animated backgrounds. This novel approach enables us to stage more programs very efficiently, with each enjoying customized graphic set design.
Scholarships
In June, as part of our continuing commitment to Franklin students, Franklin TV awarded two $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors:
- Tatyana Youssef of Franklin High
- Emily Scannell of Tri-County High
Our congratulations and best wishes go out to them in their academic endeavors.
A Broadcasting Opportunity, WFPR-FM
In February of 2014, Franklin TV was awarded a construction permit by the FCC for a 100 Watt, noncommercial educational FM radio station. WFPR, (Franklin Public Radio) broadcasting on 102.9 FM. The FCC received 3,000 applications. Franklin.TV was among 81 Massachusetts applicants.
Of these, 19 permits were granted, with 8 going to P/E/G studios like Franklin TV. WFPR will be an extension of Franklin TV’s services to the community and surrounding towns. Our construction permit runs to February, 2017 to allow sufficient time to properly site and construct a broadcast antenna.
FPR will also provide opportunities for local citizens to have a voice by producing their own programs or participating as volunteers to make our radio station successful as a local community resource.
Our Charter Operations
We continue to see increasing requests from various town agencies and civic organizations to provide TV coverage for local events. We cover Franklin events that are cultural or institutional in nature and of general interest.
We are always interested in training volunteers who would like to learn the craft of video production. Trained volunteers and interns work alongside our roster of free-lance and staff professionals to shoot and edit the institutional programs that we cover.
Citizen Access
Residents who produce their own access programs are the owners of these programs. As such, these producers hold their own copyright and may copy and distribute these programs freely, provided that the programs are cablecast on the Franklin system.
Per our Public Access charter, we do not provide equipment for covering private or personal events or for purposes other than generating Access Programs to be shown over the Franklin cable system Information about our weekly programming can be found on our web site: www.franklin.tv.
While visiting our website, also read our informative F.A.Q. on P/E/G TV studios, their operation, history and charter. We also recommend browsing our past newsletter archives to learn more about Franklin TV, our growth and development, and the civic events that we cover throughout the year.
Finally, in closing, “Thanks for watching!”
Respectfully submitted,
Franklin TV’s Board of Directors
Ken Norman, President
Jay Horrigan, Vice President
Wesley Rea, Treasurer
John Milot, Clerk
Anne Bergen, Nick Remissong, Rose Turco
Peter Fasciano, Executive Director
 |
| Franklin Public Access Studio, 23 Hutchinson Street |
Download and read the full Annual Report for the Town of Franklin FY 2016
Prior year annual reports can be found
http://www.franklinma.gov/administrator/pages/annual-reports
