***READ THE FULL STORY AT PPMTVNH.ORG/SAVE-PPMTV***

The City of Portsmouth, NH, receives a Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) Fee from Comcast each year. Close to 90% of U.S. towns and cities have this fee and use it to fund local programming (sources: National Association Of Telecommunications Officers And Advisors; S.66 - Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984).

Portsmouth Public Media (PPMtv), the Seacoast's public access TV/media station, only gets a small portion of these funds, with the City of Portsmouth taking a large amount of the franchise fee to add to their general fund. By denying PPMtv the necessary funds, we are missing out on a significant opportunity for community outreach, creative endeavors, and local news reporting. PPMtv plays a vital role in showcasing locally generated content, informing and entertaining the community, and creating a platform for open dialogue. Maintaining this valuable local resource is crucial, which directly impacts over 21,000 households in the City of Portsmouth.

We call on the City Council of Portsmouth, NH, to redistribute the PEG Fee to better support PPMtv. This will secure the future of our vital community station, and reinforce Portsmouth's commitment to fostering local creative, educational, and civic pursuits. Please sign this petition to encourage the City Council to take this crucial action.

Why is this needed? Public media is vastly important - moreso than ever in a world rife with disinformation. PPMtv’s YouTube (our most successful platform) has a following unheard of in the public access world, with 4.7 million lifetime views and approximately 7k views weekly. It would be a travesty to lose what could be a center for media and local programming.

Why now? PPMtv is on the verge of closure. The amount received from the franchise fee is significantly lower than in previous years, leaving the already-underfunded station with a smaller budget than ever. We’re faced with the shutdown of the station within six months if we do not act.

What impact does this fee have on the City? The amount the City gets annually from the franchise fee, $360,000, is tiny in the scheme of things - only 0.24% of their general budget for 2024-25. Conversely, PPMtv is tremendously underfunded as compared to other stations; even a more equal split of this fee would allow PPMtv to continue to operate, and even grow.

Where do I learn more? Linked here is a document with the details about our current state, PPMtv’s past and present successes, and what we could do for the community with more funding. If you have any questions about any of this, please reach out to us at chad.cordner@ppmtvnh.org or president@ppmtvnh.org.