If you’ve not yet watched Alleghany Community Television, don’t feel bad, a lot of local folks haven’t even heard of it, yet. But you should know our little school-system sponsored station is now in around 3000 homes in the region. ACTV is, at present, in 437 Surry County homes, 800 in Wilkes County and 1675 in the Skyline and Alleghany Cablevision viewing area. Those numbers are growing (daily) as Skyline and other systems bring customers online to new fiber-optic delivery systems in the mountain region.
Imaging Specialists has been working with ACTV by donating hosting and maintenance for the station’s web site www.alleghanycommunitytelevision.com (which was originally a Senior Project by a student that participated in the program.) Their live schedule is online now, and we hope to eventually stream station content, which will showcase Alleghany County in a way never before possible. After that happens, viewership will potentially include anyone in the world with a computer and an Internet connection.
ACTV is a relatively new organization that originated in the Alleghany County School System and the A. Anderson Huber Cyber Campus. Station Manager, Charlie Scott and Cyber Campus Manager, Travis Sturgill have been working with Alleghany High students for several years to build a modern, viable TV Station.
With their oversight, the students have been doing the lion’s share of the work, learning and performing jobs like videography, programming, announcing, sales, makeup and every other job associated with operating a TV station. Their newest project, soon to be broadcast, is an Alleghany News program. It will join the many locally produced shows including school academic and sports events, Senior projects, Sparta Town Council meetings and area church services.
Other counties all over North Carolina, have been watching ACTV closely, hoping to replicate our success. There are plans to bring in students from the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, to intern and help train Alleghany students.
ACTV is the best unknown resource in Alleghany County (and possibly Northwest North Carolina) and you should be a part of it.
If you don’t know much about the station and would like to learn more, contact Charlie Scott at 657-0825. Since it is a non-profit enterprise, overt advertising isn’t allowed, but sponsorship is welcome, either of individual shows, series or at station level. Gifts to the station will (very) soon be tax deductible after it achieves full 501(c)(3) status.
