Partnership proposed for Montco public access TV station

LOWER MERION The dormant public access TV station in Lower Merion Township is one step closer to airing for the first time since October after a joint partnership with a station in Radnor Township was announced last week.

The Cable Advisory Committee in Lower Merion Township approved an agreement in principle to form a joint operation between two proposals that had been vying to take control of the station.

Under the agreement, Lower Merion's public access program, based in the Ludington Library, will be operated by the Lower Merion Historical Society, which had argued to keep control of the station within the township.

The station, Channel 99 for Comcast customers and 34 on Verizon, will also stream content from Radnor 21 Studios. When the equipment at the Ludington Library is upgraded, the Historical Society will be able to add its own programming.

Radnor 21 broadcasts six hours of content daily and benefits from $200,000 annually from Radnor's franchise agreement with cable operators to fund original programming from local residents.

The vote was 5-0, with two members absent. When the agreement is finalized, it is to be voted on by the township's Board of Commissioners, possibly in June.

- John Moritz