A Seachange For Public Television

State budget cuts to New Hampshire Public Television, through the university system, have led to several changes. And some town selectmen on the seacoast are worried about what it means for their programming.

Last month, New Hampshire Public Television partnered with WGBH Boston. Now, their new program schedule takes effect on September 30^th, aligning it with the national PBS broadcast times. In addition to that, Comcast subscribers will see a change to the channel lineup, consolidating NHPTV and WGBH on October 8th. Most Massachusetts viewers will begin to see New Hampshire-produced shows and New Hampshire viewers will begin to see some Boston-produced shows, all on the same channel.

This follows about $2.7 million in state-level funding cuts, last year. Production for two local shows was put on hiatus. Much of the full time staff was either laid off or received pay cuts. And, last July, NHPTV also became independent of the university system for the first time in more than 50 years.

Now, Comcast has been reaching out to individual towns with news of the coming changes, but some selectmen are reacting with confusion and fear. New Hampshire Public Television President Peter Frid wants to set the record straight.

Thanks to a recent underwriter donation, NHPTV will begin taping in January for their 29th season of Granite State Challenge, the high school quiz show that was on hiatus this year.

The following information is provided by NHPTV: