CC SR 20170919 06 - RPVtv Program OptionsRANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 09/19/2017
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA DESCRIPTION:
Consideration and possible action to explore options to expand programming for RPVty
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Direct Staff regarding options to expand programming for RPVty.
FISCAL IMPACT: This will depend on the option chosen by the City Council. Staff can
identify actual costs and bring those back to Council after a preferred option is chosen.
At the beginning of FY17-18, the budget was $229,000. On August 15, 2017, a
settlement agreement was reached with one RPVty contractor raising the current
budget to approximately $270,000 for this program. Additional potential litigation could
increase the budget significantly in the future.
Amount Budgeted: $270,000
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): 101 -400 -1440 -various accounts �.
ORIGINATED BY: Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager J-.:
REVIEWED BY: Same as above
APPROVED BY: Doug Willmore, City Manager/ -,
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
Staff was directed to bring a report back discussing potential options to expand
programming for RPVty, the City's governmental and educational cable channels.
Currently, much of the content the City airs on its channels is meetings for the other
public agencies on the Peninsula. The notable exception is the City of Palos Verdes
Estates, which found that its constituents primarily utilized the Internet to access various
City meetings.
The City also produces other shows like City Talk, Peninsula Beat, and Around the
Peninsula, and airs other content including fitness videos, educational programs, and
videos featuring local athletes.
Options for additional programming that are available to the City Council include:
1) Airing content produced by other local public agencies — Many larger public
agencies create content that could be shared amongst various public agencies.
For example, the States of California & Nevada (SCAN) Chapter of the National
Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), a non-profit
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professional organization serving local governments and regional authorities, has
events for member agencies to "swap" content that is appropriate for public,
educational, and government (PEG) access television. Many cities, including
Torrance, Redondo Beach, EI Segundo, Long Beach, and Los Angeles, are
members of SCAN NATOA. Additionally, other agencies such as the Los
Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) create videos and offer
them to PEG channels for airing. Membership in SCAN NATOA is approximately
$80 per year. The City Council could also direct Staff to explore agencies that
may provide content relevant to the Peninsula, such as Metro or the Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors meetings.
2) Internships for students — Previously, RPVty offered an 8 -week internship
program to students. Interns were given the opportunity to learn the basics of
film/video production and editing, and to research, write, produce, film and edit
multiple news, documentary, and film -style stories. In addition, the student
interns had to rely on each other to fill other crew positions (e.g., reporter,
camera, sound, lights, etc.), helping them to gain valuable work experience in
those areas. These would be unpaid internships, but would require time from
consultants and/or City Staff to oversee the interns. Providing more internship
opportunities could potentially expand some programming.
3) Create additional full- and/or part-time positions to produce content — The
City Council also has the option of adding additional full- and/or part-time Staff to
create additional RPVty content. The cost of this option would depend upon the
level of staff that the City Council was looking to retain, their wages and benefits,
and the number of hours per week they would work. Currently, there is one
contract Cable TV Station Manager, three contract Producers who regularly
appear in shows, and one part-time Television Producer who is a City employee.
It should be noted that there is also currently potential litigation regarding RPVty
staffing that could increase the budget significantly and affect staffing levels.
Additional programming could potentially involve the following: sports
programming focusing on Peninsula sports events and Peninsula sports figures;
biographical programs featuring the very interesting careers and lives of
Peninsula residents; historical programs educating viewers about the history of
the Peninsula; and, coverage of more City events.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available
for the City Council's consideration:
1. Receive and file the report and take no further action.
2. Direct Staff to take other action not listed above.
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