BCTV and Southern Vermont Cable Sign Agreement

Brattleboro Community Television and Southern Vermont Cable Company today announced the signing of a contract designating BCTV as the public access television provider for the towns of Dummerston, Jamaica, Newfane, Putney and Townshend for the next eight years.

With the signing of the contract, BCTV, Vermont’s oldest public access station, will bring its two channels, programs and facilities to an expanded area within Windham County. Cor Trowbridge, executive director of BCTV, said “We are happy to be partnering with Southern VT Cable to bring high quality local programming to its cable subscribers. This expansion, coupled with our recently concluded contract with Comcast, assures BCTV’s ongoing presence in the greater Brattleboro area and makes BCTV a central resource for a large part of Windham County.” Lynn Barrett, BCTV board president, said, “Local public access television is a vital part of the cultural and educational life of communities, helping to bring to local subscribers and BCTV members a truly independent means of exercising democratic and artistic freedoms.”

Starting this spring, Southern VT Cable subscribers will find BCTV’s Channel 10 on their channel lineup, in addition to BCTV’s Channel 8, which they’ve received for the past ten years. Channel 10 contains educational programming such as BUHS-TV as well as local and state government programming.

Residents of these towns will also be able to use the video production facilities, equipment and studios of BCTV to share their talents and views with their neighbors.