City and Red Clay presenters outline educational and civic programming; officials flag funding pressures

Wilmington — City media staff and representatives of the Red Clay Consolidated School District detailed community programming offered to Wilmington residents and students and warned that shrinking PEG funding and cable subscriptions are pressuring the unit’s budget.

Wendell Wilson, a city media staff member who presented the city’s programming slate, described multiple platforms the city runs or supports: a president’s monthly address, a two‑minute drill for council members, a 22 News short‑form package and a longer “22 News on the Scene” program, Sights and Sounds for event highlights and an “Inside the District” series for councilmembers to profile district programs. Wilson said the office also partners with county and state agencies and organizations such as ChristianaCare and the Wilmington Library for health and speaker‑series programming.

Wilson told commissioners the unit must be “very conscious of our spending” because PEG funding tied to cable subscriptions is declining. He said the office is targeting a 10% expenditure reduction in its current FY25 budget and is pursuing grants and contract work — he cited an existing production services contract with New Castle County for $34,500 per year.

Red Clay Consolidated School District representatives described educational access programming they operate for students. Marcez Velasquez, executive producer for the district’s EdTV, said the district runs a 24/7 educational network carrying programs such as SciShow Kids, CNN Student News, a reading show called The Book Nook, Project Soapbox student segments, a cooking show developed with the nutrition department and a mobile “Education Station” confessional booth built into a bus. The district reported most shows are posted to YouTube and promoted on district social media and that financial support has been primarily self‑funded, with grant exploration under way.

Commissioners asked for production metrics. Commissioner Walker pressed for counts of council monthly addresses, two‑minute drills and the number of 22 News packages produced in recent years. Wilson said he did not have all baseline counts on hand and agreed to provide 2024 and year‑to‑date 2025 tallies at the next committee meeting. D ETV and city staff supplied several audience figures during the D ETV presentation: D ETV cited more than 338,000 Comcast households statewide in its carriage footprint and social media metrics including 8,647 YouTube subscribers and combined recent view totals in the tens of thousands.

Both the city media office and Red Clay officials said they are exploring grant opportunities and partnerships to replace lost PEG revenue. Wilson said a vacant producer position remains defunded and the office will keep using a pool of freelancers for on‑demand production work.

Commissioners asked to receive baseline production counts (2024 and 2025 YTD), work‑hour estimates per 22 News package, and details of public‑access policies and procedures. Staff agreed to provide the requested numbers and a copy of franchise/PEG support language from Comcast ahead of the next meeting.