Time Running Out to Save WYCN-tv13 Nashua

Gordon Jackson and Carolyn Choate are stuck between a cable monopoly and a hard place. 

The couple has been the driving force behind Nashua's Class A (low-powered) station, WCYN, for the past 25 years. Last month Comcast announced it is preparing to drop MyTV Channel 13 from its lineup. In an effort to buy some time, they are reaching out to local and state officials and business leaders – and the community at large – asking for support to save the station. 

Earlier this week, Choate hand-delivered an appeal to U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, who was in town, in hope that she can advocate in Washington, D.C., for the station. U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, has also written a letter of support on their behalf to Comcast.

"We think Comcast didn't know at the time we were hired back by (new station owner) OTA to restore the station. They see us as a technical dinosaur, but we believe they don't realize that OTA, who paid $4 million for the station, is in the process of sinking another $1.5 million into the station to go digital. That's happening in October. All we need is is two more months, beyond their Aug. 15 deadline," said Choate.

Citing outdated technology and lackluster programming under previous owner Bill Binnie's watch, Comcast lowered the boom the first week of June, putting the station on notice that they were going to pull the plug.

"We've asked them to honor the original signed agreement we had with Comcast, that said we had to convert to digital by 2015. We've asked them to at least give us a year to prove ourselves – that we're back on track with local programming, something that fell by the wayside with the previous owner," Jackson said.

It's a complicated business, as political as it is technical, Jackson said, especially in an ever-changing technological climate that is starting to rankle consumers, who are finding ways around cable subscriptions, via the Internet. 

In a recent national survey by New Hampshire-based Leichtman Research, it is reported that the top-13 multi-channel video providers have seen a first-ever net subscriber loss. (You can click here to compare stats for all top providers including Comcast, TimeWarner, DirecTV and Dish Network)

But almost everything you need to understand about the movement to save this local TV station today can be found in the name of the 1992 law designed to protect it. 

The Cable Television and Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 was signed into federal law to make sure that the local, "low-powered" class A TV stations dedicated to providing local content for viewers were not squeezed out of the cable TV line up, Jackson said.

And for the better part of the past 25 years, Jackson and Choate have been the heart and soul WCYN-Nashua's local programming– Jackson working behind the scenes, with Choate has been in the trenches, reporting as the face of the local cable TV station. 

It's hard to say what will become of the little station that could, should the signal go dark next month.

"We'll still be doing the same programming we've been doing, only nobody will see it – unless they have an antennae," Choate said. "

"It will be the death of us," Jackson said.

The past two years have been more than a roller coaster, said Choate, taking a moment to gather herself in the midst of relating where she's been and how much it means to her to continue to report on the city she loves. 

As a 10-year breast cancer survivor, Choate knows how to dig in when the going gets tough. 

She said after selling the station to Bill Binnie in 2011, things changed. Hyper-local programming diminished and the station became a shell of its former self, airing mostly canned programming. 

"The decision to sell the station in 2011 to Bill Binnie wasn't easy, but we had no choice. Here I was, having gone through breast cancer, and we couldn't afford the insurance – we were facing $2,000 a month for me as a cancer survivor, and we knew we needed a million dollars to convert the station to digital. So we decided to sell," Choate said.

But by January of 2013 Binnie announced his plans to sell to Over the Air Broadcasting, Inc. (OTA) , which seemed like a giant step back to the future Choate and Jackson.

"When OTA took over in May of this year we were told to go back to Nashua and keep do what we do best, and what we love – local programming. Two weeks later, Comcast sent the letter letting us know they were dropping us," Choate said.

"They think Nashua doesn't need us because they have public access television, but we aren't the same as Access Nashua – we are out there in the community producing local programming, and sometimes we're the only media outlet providing coverage of local events, from meetings to parades," Choate said.

A 30-second TV spot was created to help rally public support - it's uploaded here – and provides a link to this online petition. Choate and Jackson are hoping for 5,000 signatures.

"I know it's ambitious, but we believe the support is out there," Choate said. 

The hope is that anyone who's appreciated their political and community coverage will take a moment to sign the petition and pass it on. 

In adopting the 1992 Cable Act, Congress stated that it wanted to promote the availability of diverse views and information, to rely on the marketplace to the maximum extent possible to achieve that availability, to ensure cable operators continue to expand their capacity and program offerings, to ensure cable operators do not have undue market power, and to ensure consumer interests are protected in the receipt of cable service.  The Commission has adopted regulations to implement these goals. 

Click here to sign the online petition.

Below are some of the local programs produced by Jackson and Choate:

Downtown Arts Movement “Art in Bloom”

Sen. Ayotte Award Purple Heart to German Sanchez

2013 Taste of Downtown

2013 Garden Tour to Benefit NH Symphony

Nashua Native, Kendall Reyes of San Diego Chargers, Presents “Field Day” for Kids

Gov. Hassan Speaks to Community College about NH Ready to Work Program

2013 Hollis Strawberry Festival

Opening of New Market Basket

Young Eagles “Fly Day” at Nashua Airport

2013 Rotary Club Ribfest at Anheuser Bush (40K in attendance)

2013 State Democratic Convention

2013 Ice Show from Conway Arena

2013 Nashua Sculpture Symposium

Nashua Chamber of Commerce Local Education Forum

Nashua Immigration Forum

Nashua Senior Center Lecture Series

Nashua Public Library Lecture Series

Summer Gourmet Series Part 1: 4th of July Entertaining

Nashua Rotary Club Speaking Series: 4 Programs