Northampton hearing: residents urge full funding, HD channels and flat capital in Comcast license talks

Northampton Mayor Jean Louise Shara opened a public ascertainment hearing — held in person at the Senior Center and on Zoom — to gather community comment as the city prepares to renegotiate Comcast’s cable franchise, which the mayor said expires on 04/03/2026.

The hearing focused overwhelmingly on Northampton Open Media (often called NAM or formerly NCTV). Residents, nonprofit leaders, school staff and students urged the city and Comcast to ensure continued and stable support for the community media organization: full 5% operational funding, capital funding set as a flat amount rather than a percentage tied to cable subscriber counts, conversion of local channels to HD and clearer, electronic program listings.

Why it matters: Northampton Open Media records and streams government meetings, provides equipment and training to Northampton High School and other local groups, runs regional media programs and offers digital-navigation services for residents who lack device or Internet skills. Speakers said those services supported civic transparency during the pandemic, provided career pathways for students and helped nonprofits and arts organizations reach wider audiences.

Mayor Jean Louise Shara opened the hearing by describing its legal purpose: “My name is Jean Louise Shara. I’m the mayor of Northampton and I am serving tonight in my capacity as the city’s cable license issuing authority under master general laws chapter 1 66 a.” She said the city will place legal notices and enter the hearing record and that the record will be shared with Comcast.

Comcast’s local representative, Eileen Leahy, described the company’s relationship with the city. “We’ve had a very good partnership with the city. We look forward to fruitful negotiations and continued partnership with the city,” Leahy said.

Al Williams, executive director of Northampton Open Media, framed the organization’s role as independent stewardship of community media: “We as Northampton Open Media don’t have a part in the negotiations … we are the stewards and shepherds of what is created out of this negotiation.”

Common requests and evidence cited by speakers - Full 5% operational funding for Northampton Open Media and full capital funding for NAM’s capital list, repeated by dozens of speakers, including City Council members, school committee members, nonprofit leaders and students. Several speakers asked that capital funding be a fixed (flat) figure rather than a percentage tied to subscriber counts so budgets remain predictable as cable subscriptions decline. - Conversion of the city’s local channels to high-definition (HD). Multiple speakers said HD is now industry standard and would improve accessibility and archival quality. - Detailed electronic and online program listings for NAM programming so viewers can find community shows and government coverage. - Additional funding or voluntary contributions from Comcast to address revenue shortfalls and to support NAM’s regional services, training and equipment lending. - Continued consumer protections in the city’s license (customer service, senior discounts) and clarity that the city does not want any license provisions reduced from the current agreement.

Speakers gave local examples and metrics. Former board member and councilor Stan Moulton said NAM now archives roughly 300 meetings annually and noted the nonprofit’s YouTube presence: “the nongovernment YouTube channel … has some 6,000 subscribers” and NAM’s content “averaged 250,000 views a year” during the last contract period. Students and educators described how NAM supplies cameras, editing software and studio space used by Northampton High School’s Transcript program; several students credited NAM with enabling awards and college pathways.

Nonprofit and arts leaders described NAM’s role supporting events, telethons and fundraising: Natalie Ulrich of Safe Passage said live-stream coverage expanded fundraising reach for the agency’s Hot Chocolate Run; Pamela Hunter and others representing 33 Holly and the Northampton Community Arts Trust pointed to equipment lending, event production and training that support community arts.

Multiple speakers urged the City to negotiate a flat capital line item because they expect cable subscriptions to decline: “It needs to be flat rate to be reasonable and reliable for nonprofit organizations,” said Natalie Graves. Several witnesses also urged the city to secure HD conversion during the renewal — a technical ask tied to long-term archival value.

Digital equity and community services Speakers highlighted recent expansions of NAM’s services beyond traditional broadcast: Hannah Cox (NAM’s digital navigator) described drop-in digital help hours and device and hotspot assistance that help residents apply for jobs, housing and benefits. Kathy Busby of the Alliance for Digital Equity said NAM is a regional hub for device distribution and digital-navigation services and urged stable funding to sustain that work.

No formal votes or decisions were taken at the hearing; the session was a public comment phase required by state and federal cable franchise law. Mayor Shara noted the record will be provided to Comcast and that the ascertainment process remains open while negotiations continue.

What the City will do next: Mayor Shara said the hearing record — including legal advertisements entered as exhibits — will be given to Comcast as the City and Comcast negotiate terms for the franchise renewal. Several councilors and board members told the meeting they expect the City to press for the specific items raised by the public (flat capital funding, 5% operational funding, HD conversion and program-listing improvements).

Community voices (selected direct quotes) - “We’ve had a very good partnership with the city. We look forward to fruitful negotiations and continued partnership with the city,” Eileen Leahy, senior manager of government and regulatory affairs, Comcast. - “We as Northampton Open Media don’t have a part in the negotiations … we are the stewards and shepherds of what is created out of this negotiation,” Al Williams, executive director, Northampton Open Media. - “I just don’t wanna see their funding go down because of the diminishing cable watches,” Alex Russo, president, Northampton Open Media Board of Directors. - “These are 10 year contracts. 10 years. Just think about what happened 10 years ago,” Bill Dwight, longtime Northampton resident, on unpredictability across a decade and the need for stable funding.

Ending The hearing closed without formal action. City staff and elected officials said the City will use the testimony to inform negotiations with Comcast; the public record from the hearing will remain open and will be provided to Comcast as part of the franchise renewal process. The mayor reminded attendees that federal and state law requires ascertainment hearings to identify community cable needs and that the license’s renewal or denial will be decided through the legally prescribed process.