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Granite Towne Media director reports franchise revenue dip, outlines coverage plans for school and community events
Summary
Director Chris told the Milford Granite Towne Media board that Comcast franchise revenues have declined from recent highs and the organization is tracking subscriber losses while planning year‑end school and community event coverage and Memorial Day broadcasting.
Chris, director of Granite Towne Media, told the board on May 22 that the station’s Comcast franchise revenue and subscriber base have declined over the past five years and that staff are assembling detailed charts and audit materials to track the change.
“I like to always put down the Comcast audits,” Chris said, explaining auditors are comparing town records to Comcast’s reports and to recent Federal Communications Commission changes on write‑off recoveries.
Chris said the station’s current franchise revenue runs about $210,000–$220,000 a year. He said the station’s first full year after a recent rate change was about $242,000 in 2023 and that 2024 was about $238,000. He told the board the local subscriber base had fallen from roughly 4,500 about five years ago to just under 3,000 now, and that trend — plus customers downgrading service tiers — explains most of the revenue change. Chris emphasized that internet revenues are not part of the town’s franchise reports and that Comcast does not provide town‑level internet figures through the franchise process.
Chris said auditors are reviewing subscriber records to confirm the town receives the correct franchise payments and that he is preparing a multi‑year line chart for the board. He also reminded the board the auditors will be checking the town’s records against the carrier’s reports to confirm calculations used after the FCC rule change on recoveries were applied correctly.
In operational news, Chris and staff reviewed planned coverage for upcoming school and community events: first‑grade music and art festivals, community service day coverage assisted by high‑school student crews, eighth‑grade and high‑school graduations (the high‑school graduation is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m.), an awards night, and Memorial Day coverage on the oval. He said the station intends to provide multi‑camera streaming for graduation and to post live streams on the station’s Facebook and YouTube pages in addition to broadcast channels.
On scheduling, Chris reminded the board there will be no June meeting because staff will attend the ACM national conference in June; the board’s next meeting is scheduled for July 26.
The director’s report closed with staff requests for members to review the first‑quarter Comcast packet and fourth‑quarter report from the previous year; Chris asked that the paper copies be returned after review.
