Community television providers ask for $7.5 million per year as a stopgap while franchise-fee model erodes

Representatives, station leaders and local officials told the Legacy Finance Committee that community television stations face declining cable franchise revenues and sought state funding to sustain government transparency broadcasts and hyperlocal programming.

Representative Neal Nadeau introduced House File 1740, which proposes $7,500,000 per year from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund for grant awards to community television stations across Minnesota. Shannon Slatten Schwartz, executive director of CCX Media and representative for the Minnesota Association of Community and Downtown Access (MACDA), testified that CCX covers nine suburbs and broadcasts more than 365 city meetings annually, drawing more than 54,000 views. “People wanted to know what was going on in city hall, and they looked to us to provide that information,” Schwartz said, describing local demand for meeting coverage after the 2021 Brooklyn Center events.

Jackson Grosskreitz described the experience of SWTV, which serves a 10‑city commission area and produces community promotion videos, civic campaigns and PSAs. Grosskreitz said franchise fees have supported PEG stations for decades but that stations now face revenue declines as viewers cut cable in favor of streaming. He told the committee the Legacy Fund stopgap would help smaller rural commissions continue to provide local meetings coverage and educational programming.

Committee members discussed long‑term funding and technical fixes. The committee adopted an A1 author’s amendment described as technical and then laid House File 1740, as amended, over for possible inclusion. Legislators urged staff and stakeholders to pursue sustainable franchise-fee or statutory mechanisms to replace declining cable-based revenue.