TV30 goes to all-digital format TV30 goes to all-digital format (October 28, 2005)

Change boosts video quality for Tri-Valley system
by Jeb Bing

TV30, the Tri-Valley community television system that serves Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore and San Ramon, has gone digital. And what a great new face it offers viewers on Channels 30, 29 and 28.

Glenn Davis, who was named executive director of the station last July, said the all-digital format puts TV30 in "the big leagues," head-to-head with the cable and commercial stations viewers like.

"What this means is that our signal is more beautiful, our images are more stable and we don't have the kinds of broadcast problems we used to have," Davis said.

New production equipment and cameras that allowed the change are part of a $1.5 million upgrade to TV30, which is unique among the country's local franchises that operate under the guidelines of the Federal Communications Act. It has one of the only daily live news broadcasts in community television and serves an estimated 68,000 households, representing a population of nearly 200,000.

Approximately 60 percent of its $650,000 budget comes from Comcast cable, which assesses a 50-cent fee on each of its monthly bills for TV30 as part of a cable franchise agreement with the four cities the station serves.

The station also earns revenue from underwriters whose "commercials" are aired in return for their contributions to the system, and from fees TV30 charges to organizations such as ValleyCare Health System and the Pleasanton Police Department for shows it produces and airs in their behalf.

Davis plans to increase that revenue by adding more sponsors and programs. He's already talked to the city councils in the four sponsoring cities to generate more interest in station support, and is also addressing Rotary and other service organizations to promote the station and its financial needs.

Judy Wheeler of Towne Center Books has agreed to be a major sponsor, and has just given TV30 a new set for its popular "In a Word" program. In return, Davis is using the station's new three-camera mobile broadcast van to tape the show's hosts Kathy Cordova and Jim Ott interviewing authors when they are at Towne Center in book signing promotions.

This month, Davis introduced his new "Tri-Valley Sports Final," an up-to-date high school sports show that is produced late Fridays and aired over the weekend.

"Every week we will air a different show; there will be no repeats," Davis said. "We plan to cover every sport, from baseball, football and basketball to lacrosse, swimming and water polo. Here's another program where we can generate some revenue with Big O Tires already signed up as a major sponsor."

Besides new sets, the station has a new logo and has made TV30 its official name. The name change came after the Canadian Television system complained about using the same call letters it owns - CTV.

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