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WINCAM board announces relocation after sharp decline in cable-fee revenue
Summary
WINCAM told the Select Board its board has voted to relocate the community media operation to space at Parkhurst this September after declining cable franchise fees; the group asked residents and businesses for support while it adapts its funding model.
Lauren, a representative of WINCAM’s board of directors, read an open letter to the Select Board saying the nonprofit has decided to relocate its operations to a more sustainable site at Parkhurst.
“To ensure we can continue fulfilling that mission for years to come, we have made a difficult decision to relocate our operations,” Lauren said while reading the letter. The statement said cable subscriptions in Winchester declined by more than 40% between 2014 and 2024, reducing the franchise-fee revenue that has long funded the station.
The letter named Dave Gauthier as WINCAM’s executive director and said he has lobbied at the statehouse to modernize community-media funding. It said WINCAM relied on a mix of franchise fees, donations, sponsorships and community partners, and that moving from its longtime Swanton Street facility (which housed the organization for about 12 years) to Parkhurst offered a more sustainable operating model.
The representative said the move is intended to “preserve essential programming” and allow WINCAM to continue broadcasting public meetings and producing local content. The board asked the public to support the station through donations, sponsorships, volunteering or by sharing WINCAM’s work.
No formal vote or motion by the Select Board was recorded in the transcript; the letter was presented as a statement from WINCAM’s board of directors.
