Cape Ann's four towns start the Comcast cable renewal with a survey of 202 residents

The committee that will negotiate new cable TV franchise agreements with Comcast for Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea met Wednesday and heard what 202 residents said about local programming. It did not pick a chair.

What happened

• The Cape Ann Regional Cable Advisory Committee has one member from each town. Three were at the table: Rockport Town Administrator Mitchell Vieira, Manchester Town Administrator Tony Barletta and the City of Gloucester's assistant general counsel. Essex Town Administrator Brendhan Zubricki was absent, so the committee put off choosing a chair.
• 1623 Studios, the nonprofit community media center for the four towns, presented a survey it ran in January and February. It drew 202 responses: 94 from Gloucester, 48 from Essex, 39 from Rockport, 20 from Manchester and one from somewhere else.
• 89 of the 202 said they do not subscribe to Comcast. More people said they watch local programs on YouTube (105 mentions) than on cable (66), the studio's website (48) or Facebook (39).
• Nobody spoke during public comment. The committee will meet again once all four members can attend.

What the survey found

The studio's executive director said the survey was voluntary, not a scientific poll, and reflects only the people who chose to answer. Among them, local government meetings were the most watched kind of program, with 96 mentions. Asked what local programming does for them, 99 said it keeps them informed about local decisions and 49 said it helps them feel connected to their community.

Asked what they want more of, respondents picked local history and heritage (126 mentions), local news and interviews (118), arts and culture (95) and community events (91).

When asked whether technical improvements such as high definition broadcasts and better online access would help, 105 said yes, it would make programs easier to find and watch. Another 33 said better quality would improve their experience, 52 were not sure and 11 said no. The studio runs programs from four towns on three cable channels, so meetings sometimes overlap. Several residents asked for a program guide on Comcast that shows the actual meeting or show instead of a generic "local programming" label.

Thirty-eight written comments were about promotion. Some respondents said they did not know the station existed or where to find its programs. Asked whether the studio helps civic engagement and community awareness, 170 said yes, 31 were unsure and one said no.

The studio plans to file a written assessment of its operating, technical and capital needs before the towns finish the ascertainment, the public fact finding step that comes before franchise talks. By law that step does not cover Comcast's programming or its rates.

What the committee said

One of the town administrators on the committee said residents constantly tell town hall they did not hear about an issue, and anything that makes local information easier to find would help, including a better spot in the cable guide or an app on the home screen of a streaming device. A member also suggested voice search, so a viewer could ask a remote for a town's Select Board meeting.

The Gloucester member said the committee will need more technical detail on high definition support to bring into the Comcast talks and looks forward to the studio's written assessment. The member running the meeting said the program guide came up ten years ago, when Comcast "really wasn't interested," and that this round is a chance to raise it again. The Gloucester member said notice requirements will shape the next steps.

What was decided

• No chair was chosen. The committee deferred the vote until all four members are present.
• Adjourn: voice vote, all in favor, at 6:28 p.m.

What happens next

• The committee will schedule its next meeting when the Essex member is available, to discuss more ways to gather public input and how the Comcast talks will proceed.
• 1623 Studios will submit its written needs assessment before the ascertainment closes.
• Residents with views on cable service other than programming and rates can speak at the next public session. Watch the four town agenda pages for the posting.

Where to find the records

• Agendas for Oct. 21: Essex, Rockport and Manchester
• Meeting recording on YouTube

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the meeting online and checked names against the agendas and the town rosters. These are our meeting notes, not the committee's minutes.