Annual Report FY19: July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019 Vermont Lt. Governor David Zuckerman (second from left) joined co-host Tim Johnson and the BCTV crew for our production of the 2019 Strolling of the Heifers Parade, which was live on Vermont PBS, Facebook Live, YouTube, and Channel 8. beicreative • be informed • be local 230 Main Street, #201 Brattleboro, VT 05301 Ph (802) 257-0888 Web brattleboro.tv Mission Brattleboro Community Television is a community media center serving eight towns in southeastern Vermont. Our mission is to promote civic engagement and transparency, and to empower community members to share their knowledge, views and creativity, without prejudice. Board of Directors Chris Lenois, President At-large: 2020 Alex Beck, Vice President At-large: 2019 Jim Verzino, Treasurer Appointee: 2021 Pauline Dean, Secretary At-large: 2020 Lynn Barrett At-large: 2021 Martin Cohn Appointee: 2021 Bob Gammon At-large: 2021 Leah Goodman At-large: 2021 Jesse Kreitzer Appointee: 2020 Left to right: Board members Lynn Barrett, Marty Cohn, Leah McGrath Goodman, Chris Lenois (behind), Jim Verzino, Alex Beck, Jesse Kreitzer. Staff Missing from photo: Pauline Dean, Bob Gammon. Executive Director: Cor Trowbridge Operations Manager: Vlasta Popelka* Production Manager: Brian Bashaw* Content Manager: Nolan Edgar* Field Producers: Janis Chaillou Ian Kiehle Rich Melanson Frederic Noyes Ezlerh Oreste Austin Rice Emily Richards Video Camp Staff*: Ezlerh Oreste, Lead Instructor Adam Hinckley Junior Counselors: Liam Hege L to R: Brian Bashaw, Austin Rice, Janice Chaillou, Vlasta Popelka, Em Martina Kromsianova Richards, Rich Melanson, Cor Trowbridge, Nolan Edgar. Missing from photo: Sydney Popelka Ian Kiehle, Frederic Noyes, Ezlerh Oreste. 2 From the Board President Chris Lenois It is not an overstatement to say BCTV faced an existential threat this past year like no other in its 40+ year history. If you are not yet up to speed on the rules change recently approved by the Federal Communications Communication (FCC) that drastically cuts funding to Public Access stations, I encourage you to go to brattleborotv.org and read the November 27, 2018 blog post “FCC Threatens Community Television",” or watch the video from the “Future of Community Media” forum on January 3, 2019. What I am here to tell you is that I am extremely proud to be part of an organization and Left to right: Board members Lynn Barrett, Jim Verzino, Pauline community that has responded as swiftly and as Dean, Chris Lenois, Marty Cohn, Alex Beck. Missing from photo: positively to the circumstances as ours has. Bob Gammon, Leah Goodman, Jesse Kreitzer For me, it begins with a Board of Directors that reacted with urgency but without panic. During our meetings — which included a day-long, moderated retreat devoted specifically to the issue — we approached options with a strategic lens focused on addressing the immediate and long-term ramifications. We feel the solutions we’ve devised, which you’ll learn more about in this report, keeps BCTV sustainable at its current level while instilling mechanisms that allow the organization to adapt. We were also proactive in raising awareness and promoting advocacy for our cause locally, statewide, and even nationally. Members of Congress and the state legislature have been sympathetic to our cause. Funding requests to select boards and citizens for the town meetings we cover were approved with an understanding of the important role public access plays in government transparency and covering local issues in rural areas. Individuals and organizations have begun to step forth with financial support for the services and shows they value. At the root of these decisions was our unanimous belief in the abilities of BCTV’s staff, field producers and volunteers, and the quality of programming you’ll find on our channels and web site, much of which is made by members of this community. Even though we are in the early stages of implementing some new initiatives, the response from all of you has been heartening. This community, working together in the spirit of preserving local access to media, is capable of meeting these challenges. We look forward to working with you toward achieving that reality. 3 From the Executive Director Cor Trowbridge FY19 was the Year of The Threat. The threat that got the most attention was from the Federal Communications Commission. Cable corporations pressured the FCC to change the 1984 Cable Act, the legislation which established a stable source of funding for public access TV from franchise fees. The proposal was to change definitions within the Act such that cable providers can charge costs of required in-kind services against the fees from local cable subscribers that they collect and pass through to Cor’s post-radio-show selfie after being on WVEW- stations like ours. When this was proposed in the fall of 2018, FM with host Jim Maxwell talking about threats to BCTV and other stations rallied to collect and file letters with community media in January 2019. the FCC opposing the change. Across the country, almost 10,000 letters were filed, similar to the protest against dismantling net neutrality. BCTV contacted our Congressional delegation, all of whom signed formal letters of opposition along with 45 of their colleagues on both sides of the aisle. BCTV’s board of directors held a board retreat in January to strategize alternate sources of funding, we held a Voices Live! Forum on the future of community media, and our local media partners did their part to spread the word. Despite these efforts, the proposal was passed with an effective date of 9/26/19. At the same time, there was a serious threat on the state level, in the form of Comcast’s lawsuit against the State in protest of its CPG renewal conditions. In January 2017, the Vermont Public Utilities Commission had sided with our stations in requiring Comcast to provide PEG channels with access to the interactive program guide, among other conditions. Comcast protested the imposition of these conditions in federal court. Our statewide membership organization, the Vermont Access Network (VAN), participated in the lawsuit to advocate for our stations and the public. The case was settled in September 2019 with mixed results. In light of these threats to the funding that provides 80% of our revenues, as well as Comcast’s challenge to the state’s authority to impose conditions in the public interest, BCTV and VAN members went to the statehouse in February to bring the issue to the attention of the Vermont Legislature. The result was the establishment of a legislative committee to study alternative methods of funding for PEG channels. We are waiting to see the ultimate effects of the FCC ruling and for the legislative committee’s recommendations. Last year at the Producer Party in October, I spoke about the gradual funding decline created by cord-cutting and the rise of online viewing, a trend that began to hit BCTV’s bottom line last year. I also explained what I knew about the FCC’s proposal and that it could mean the end of community television nationwide. In June, we gathered to announce the BCTV board’s strategies for facing these threats, including changes to our membership and production fees to reflect the value of our services. The response from select boards, donors and members has been overwhelmingly positive and gratifying. Meanwhile, our dedicated staff and volunteers produced 1200 hours of local content and 1300 local programs. We signed a contract renewal with Southern Vermont Cable with increased revenues, and took home three major awards from the Alliance for Community Media, one for Overall Excellence. I can’t tell you how this year will end, but I can assure you that BCTV will continue to fight hard to maintain this station for our towns and residents and to preserve it as a resource for freedom of expression, information, and governmental transparency. 4 Treasurer’s Report Jim Verzino In FY19, BCTV was subject to fiscal threats at the federal level from the FCC, at the state level from Comcast, and at the local level from cord-cutting. To prepare for future decreases, BCTV tightened its belt on the expense side and compensated for the downturn in franchise fees with production services and donations. Statement of Activities (DRAFT) FY2019 FY2018 $ change % change Franchise fees - Comcast 228,269 232,843 (4,574) (2.0) Franchise fees - So. VT Cable 25,067 22,942 2,125 9.3 Contributions & grants 14,088 14,020 68 0.5 Investment income 1,048 987 61 6.2 Loss on equip disposal - Production Fees & other income 39,904 33,684 6,220 18.5 Total Income 308,376 304,476 3,900 1.3 Salaries & Wages 197,626 201,334 (3,708) (1.8) Payroll taxes 15,834 16,589 (755) (4.6) Employee benefits 20,177 19,079 1,098 5.8 Professional fees 6,328 9,826 (3,498) (35.6) Rent 4,800 4,800 - - Equipment Rental 881 822 59 7.2 Insurance 4,539 3,616 923 25.5 Office supplies 1,454 1,728 (124) (7.2) Repairs & maintenance 3,900 3,725 175 4.7 Technical Equipment & Supplies* 6,638 3,196 3,292 103.0 Phone/internet/hosting 5,788 8,404 (2,616) (31.1) Hospitality 1,716 2,232 (516) (23.1) Marketing 1,896 3,043 (1,147) (37.7) Postage 218 304 (86) (28.3) Dues & subscriptions 7,697 10,563 (2,866) (27.1) Studio supplies (discontinued) 54 (54) (100.0) Travel - Meeting Mileage 4,142 3,649 493 13.5 Conferences 1,296 5,446 (4,150) (76.2) Other/Misc. 109 760 (651) (85.7) Total expenses 285,039 299,170 (14,131) (4.7) Change in net assets 23,337 5,306 18,031 339.8 Depreciation 19,716 19,176 540 2.8 Comcast capital funds rec'd 22,827 23,284 (457) (2.0) Capital Expenditures (plus * above) 6,114 18,505 (12,391) (67.0) 5 Donors and Underwriters While BCTV has been supported primarily by fees from local cable viewers, we have not competed with other nonprofits for fundraising dollars, which has benefitted the entire community.