The Hudson Cable Utility Committee met on Dec. 12 to review possible accessibility projects with HCTV’s Director of Community Media Mike Johnson.
“This is a topic we often get asked by residents in town, and these are, I feel like small things, I think we can do that, will go a long way,” he said. “In the past, I know we’ve tried this, but I want to look into it further, because I’ve seen other towns do it, potentially putting small speakers in the back of the BOS room and the seating rooms. We’re often hearing from residents that they can’t hear in those spaces.”
Town conference rooms already have assisted listening systems, although residents must contact the videographers to sign out such devices before a meeting. Committee members also revived the idea of bringing closed captioning into the meetings, a service that would cost around $5 per meeting. Eventually captioning will likely be a legal requirement.
“The captioning, because of the size of our community, we actually get a bit of a reprieve. It’s not going to be required for a number of years,” explained Committee Chair Mike O’Keefe. “That being said, I think it’s still a worth thing we should still be doing, it’s not a hug expense.”
The Chair suggested starting captioning on “key programming” before expanding it after an initial launch. Other priorities included physical accessibility for HCTV facilities.
“We’d like to get a permanent ramp going to our stage for people that’s level with it,” said Johnson, referring to the HCTV studio, which only has a small, temporary ramp at the moment. “I don’t foresee that being an expensive cost, but it’s just a small thing we’re looking at right now to ensure we’re meeting the needs of everyone who visits us.”
Another goal involved making it easier to watch HCTV on any device. Nearby public access stations in Bedford and Merrimack use a Cablecast phone app, making it easier to follow townwide content. The Director expressed his desire to extend that service to Hudson.
“That’s a way we can draw in some younger audiences as well, he said. “They’d be able to just download the app, access all of our content live or recorded.”
It would cost around $1,600 to develop, requiring approval from the Board of Selectmen.
With the conclusion of football season at Alvirne High School, Johnson was happy to report high viewership for Alvirne games and other school events on social media. Since October, HCTV also completed a Hudson History collaboration with the Rodgers Memorial Library, conducted election coverage for the town, and covered numerous award events like the National Honors Society.
HCTV also attended the ACM Nor-Eastern Video Festival in Connecticut, where they won first place for a 2023 video on the Concord Fire Department’s participation in the Emergency Services Explorer program.
“We did place for two other programs second and third. In third place the Hudson Police Department recruitment video in the PSA category, that was a big project for us,” said Johnson. “In the news and magazine category one of our Hudson Happenings programs got selected.”
In total, HCTV covered 93 events, shows, and meetings from October to December.
The Cable Utility Committee is scheduled to meet again on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, at 7 p.m. in the Hudson Cable Access Center.
