WCCA TV and PEG Funding

At a glance

Figures come from auto-captions and are unverified.

What: WCCA TV, Worcester's public access station, and the city's government and education channels are funded by PEG (public, educational and government) access money from the cable franchise. Related to Spectrum Cable Contract Renewal.
Where it stands: on 2026-09-17 the committee adopted (3-0, with the Spectrum item) a chairman's order asking the City Manager to work with the Worcester Chamber of Commerce on principal sponsorships for WCCA TV.
Next: WCCA's Mauro DePasquale said the station has lost three staff and may not last more than about a year and a half without new support.

5 percent of Charter/Spectrum revenue, allocated by the City Manager as issuing authority.
Subscriber counts have fallen sharply (just under 18,000 versus about 42,000 to 47,000 in 2013 per the captions), so revenue is shrinking.
The city's I-Net share (about $477,000 a year per WCCA's executive director) is static.

Advocates want state law broadened so PEG funding also draws on broadband and fiber revenue.

About 21 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-09-17 - Public Service and Transportation Committee	21

2026-10-06 - City Council — The Chairman's order on Chamber of Commerce sponsorships (10a) was first adopted en bloc, then reconsidered 10-0 at Luis A. Ojeda's request (Bilotta absent) and adopted again after discussion. Eric D. Batista said the city has told WCCA leadership to seek grants and sponsorships beyond contract funding, that the city must be careful about soliciting funds for an outside entity, and that the station's budgets do not show success at raising money. In public participation Mauro DePasquale said the station gets about $400,000 and delivers roughly $15 million of production value (about $6,800 a show, about 60 shows, per captions) with 204,000 viewers in 2026; Fred Nathan backed the order.
2026-09-17 - Public Service and Transportation Committee — Judy Warren explained the PEG split (public 55, education 20, government 25 percent after I-Net and administration); DePasquale described the funding crisis and state legislation; chairman's order on Chamber of Commerce sponsorships for WCCA TV recommended 3-0.