Happy Birthday! Branford's Public Access Station Celebrates 50 Years

BRANFORD, CT — For a half century, Branford Community Television has been the official public, educational and government TV provider for the town. To celebrate its 50 years, the public access channel kicks off its birthday with an open house set for Wednesday.

The behind-the-scenes event at the Kirkham Street BCTV studio is set for 5 to 7 p.m., according to a local media report.

BCTV covers town meetings and events. And also does enterprise reporting, like 'Around the Town.'

A Zip06 story notes that the open house gives folks a chance to see the "studio, their high-end equipment and editing suite, while learning more about hands-on educational and production opportunities."

And, as is noted on its Facebook page, "dreams come true" at the station.

"Dream no more! Here is where your dreams can come true. Fun and learning can be yours FREE by becoming a volunteer or member of BCTV. You can embark on a new exciting opportunity, learning valuable media skills, making meaningful contributions to your community, and providing different alternatives to commercial programming."

Here's a little BCTV history

"In 1973, Community TV Systems (CTS) became Branford's first franchise holder. Rollins Cablevision, the majority owner of CTS, assumed full control of CTS, and continued to expand the system. Branford was originally assigned two specific channels (32 and 33) for public, educational and governmental access.

One organization had to be designated as the local public access authority. In 1973, Branford Cable Access Board was established by the Branford Representative Town Meeting (RTM) with the following: Ruth Clark, Bob Hale, Mitch Laska, Peter Mullen, Jim Rocqui and Friskie Sweitzer (aka Wheeler). Hale and Laska were were representatives of the Board of Education; Peter Mullen was with the fire department. The Board's mandate was to oversee the construction of cable lines and to facilitate the activation of Branford's public access programming over its public access channels. This Commission, with its members appointed by the First Selectman, continued into the early 1990's. Considerations regarding funding and the creation of public access programming free of politics, led the committee to recommend that public access be reformed from a town appointed commission to a non-profit independent corporation.

In June, 1993, the RTM approved the transfer of public access oversight to Branford Community Television, Inc. (BCTV), a private, non-profit corporation. BCTV continues as a private non-profit corporation to the present."

BCTV is located at 40 Kirkham St., in Branford. For more information, call 203-481-3232 or visit its website here.