PEG
Public, Education, and Government
There's a nice write-up about PEG on Wikipedia. Basically, as a result of a 1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act, cable stations are required to make channels and equipment available to communities for locally generated programming via franchising agreements.
NOTE: Think of Wayne's World (not the movie, but the show within the movie) as an example of a PEG program from the "public" component of this law.
Wikipedia states...
"PEG access is a government mandate that provides television production equipment, training and airtime on a local cable system so members of the public, educational system, and the government can produce their own shows and televise them to a mass audience."
...and, in our case, we have had such resources from Greater Media, and then Charter, for many years.
For SCA, our operational model for PEG is simple. One channel (11) is reserved for a "public" bulletin-board. Another (12), is for a mix of government, education, and public programming that is usually farily new, although sometimes you'll find reruns. Think of it as a mix of first-run PEG content. Finally, our last channel (13) contains mostly education and public programming in a very eclectic mix. We may even throw in something new every now and then to keep things interesting for our viewers.
How We Are Different From The Big Guys
Some communities have paid staff running their operations. They likely have a larger the subscriber base and a larger franchise fee structure; the more money they may have the more people they can hire. The Town of Spencer opted to keep subscriber fees low and operate on an all-volunteer basis. SCA is a non-profit corporation and is separate from the town in this way. We are not a part of town government, for example. We do have a contract with the town to tape and broadcast Selectboard and Town Meetings, all by volunteer actions. And the rest of what we do is also 100% based on the individual visions and contributions of our volunteers.
The last statement especially means that if the viewing public wants to see more of something, or something different, it really means that some new volunteer will need to roll up his or her proverbial sleeves to make it happen. Our current volunteer staff is pretty busy as it is and doesn't normally take on new work on a whim. So, please consider volunteering if you have a spare whim or two lying around!