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Seal Beach volunteers urge council to support SBTV upgrades, propose Community Media Access Collaborative
Summary
Members of the Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation and community producers asked the council to fund a station manager, upgrade decades-old equipment (estimate ~$410,000), pursue a Community Media Access Collaborative model and seek clarity on annual PEG/franchise funding.
Several volunteers and board members associated with Seal Beach Television (SBTV) urged the council during public comment to support funding, staffing and organizational changes for the city’s public access channel. Joe Osuna, who identified himself as a member of the Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation board, said SBTV “is a community channel” and described gaps in staffing and accounting for the channel’s revenues.
Peter Anninos, chairman of the Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation, and other volunteers presented a proposal to modernize equipment and operations. Anninos said SBTV has relied heavily on volunteers since the station manager resigned in December 2022 and later passed away. He told the council that the station’s technology is aging — “our computer that we have upstairs that's running the graphics for this, it's running on Windows 98” — and that a tech-support estimate prepared March 21 placed a “good/better/best” upgrade package at about $410,000.
Why it matters: SBTV provides recorded council and commission meetings and local event coverage. The volunteers said upgrades and a dedicated station manager would support more reliable coverage, broaden training and revenue options and enable better metrics (YouTube, streaming) for viewership.
What speakers asked for and proposed
- Staffing and pay parity: Speakers said the station lacks a station manager and that pay disparity among part-time control-room employees threatens retention. The board plans to request pay-parity adjustments at a future council meeting.
- Organizational model: Multiple speakers proposed converting SBTV into a Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAQ/CMAc) or similar nonprofit structure to diversify revenue through memberships, production services, grants, corporate sponsorships and educational programming. Jim Quinlan said that model (citing Fresno and Long Beach examples) could create financial sustainability.
- Equipment and distribution: Volunteers requested equipment upgrades for the council chamber, mobile truck and studio. Anninos and others said community-channel carriage in high definition should be pursued under applicable state video-cable statutes — Anninos referred to the “California DIVCA law” — and asked staff to contact the cable operator to negotiate HD carriage or technical support.
- Funding and accounts: Joe Osuna said SBTV receives approximately $100,000–$115,000 per year in PEG/franchise funding and holds an internal fund of about $400,000, but the board lacks consistent quarterly accountings. The board asked for clearer financial reporting and for the city to consider a station manager position to oversee the transition.
- Digital distribution: Volunteers asked for help establishing a YouTube channel and other streaming options to better track viewership and expand reach; panelists noted some technical and vendor issues with activating cellular service used for streaming.
Responses and next steps
City staff and council members asked clarifying questions and suggested follow-up. Staff identified that a formal funding request and a clear proposal for organizational change would be appropriate for future budget discussions. Volunteers offered to deliver a formal proposal and connect council members with consultants (Sue Buskey was mentioned as a resource) to review legal and funding options.
No council vote or formal action was taken; the presentations were part of the public-comment period on the study-session agenda.
