Simsbury Community Media urges donations as subscription revenue falls

A representative for Simsbury Community Media appealed for community donations after the town’s Pride flag-raising on June 1, saying the station’s subscription-based funding model has weakened as more households "cut the cord."

The representative described Simsbury Community Media as "the voice of our town," citing local programming, education and live broadcasts — including coverage of government meetings and high school graduations — and said much of the station’s programming is freely available online while revenue tied to television subscriptions has declined. "We need your support," the speaker said repeatedly during the appeal.

The appeal emphasized that donations would help the organization preserve local programming and the town’s audiovisual archives. Specific fundraising targets, the station’s current budget shortfall, and whether the station sought town financial support were not specified in the transcript. The representative directed listeners to the organization’s website and a QR code on the screen for donations.

The event transcript uses inconsistent abbreviations for the organization ("SEM," "SCM" and variant spellings). The organization is recorded in the transcript as Simsbury Community Media; the speaker asked the audience to "join us in preserving Simsbury's voice." No formal response, pledge of municipal funding, or follow-up action by town officials appears in the transcript.