HCTV prides itself on doing more with less 

by Emily Canning-Dean 

A shrinking budget is bad news for any organization. But the folks at Hudson Community Television have managed to increase and improve programming despite a decreasing revenue stream, according to Station Manager Dan Gerbracht.

“Pre-pandemic we were doing 300 or so productions a year. That includes things like football games, city council meetings or a lecture at the library,” Gerbracht said. “In 2023, we had over 500 productions, and I think this year will end up being even higher than that. Our staffing levels have shrunk, but I think our production value has gone up.” 

HCTV was founded in 1996 and operates out of a studio inside Hudson High School. As a division of the city of Hudson, however, it reports to the city manager’s office, Gerbracht said. 

“I think something many people don’t understand is we are not funded through taxpayer dollars,” he noted.

Gerbracht explained that HCTV’s funding is contingent on the number of Spectrum Cable subscribers in Hudson and as that number has shrunk over the years, so has HCTV’s budget. 

“Because of that, we are always looking at ways to save money and do things differently and city council helps us with looking at alternative revenue sources,” he said. “The city has an HCTV Advisory Committee, and we also have a wonderful group called Friends of HCTV. They are a wonderful nonprofit that helps to raise money for us and can help us when we need to purchase pieces of equipment. We are very blessed to have them.” 

Gerbracht added that a team of volunteers also allows the organization to produce quality content. 

“We have just a couple of paid staffers and that isn’t enough to cover all of our events like football, concerts, graduations and many other major events,” he said. “But we have an army of volunteers. Some are video professionals who do this as their day job. Others are from completely different professions but are interested in helping out, so we train them on what they need to do, and they come in and do a bang up job for us.” 

While filming outdoor events like football games still requires a lot of volunteers, Gerbracht said the purchase of some cameras that were permanently installed in the high school’s auditorium during COVID has been a big help. 

“A lot of our volunteers are older and retired and we were concerned about their health during COVID being in the auditorium with a lot of people to film a concert or other school event, so we installed these robotically controlled cameras that connect to our control room at HCTV,” he said.

Instead of needing a volunteer for each camera, one person can control all of the cameras from the control room, cutting down on the need for personnel. 

HCTV provides coverage for a host of city meetings, special events and school events. Gerbracht said coverage of Hudson High School football games, however, remains the most popular among viewers. 

“I think this has become especially popular now that we are able to do live broadcasts,” he said. 

HCTV’s football coverage has grown even more in popularity now that Rock Entertainment Sports Network airs the coverage. 

“Michael Conley who runs Rock Entertainment Sports Network told me in no uncertain terms that HCTV’s coverage of Hudson football is by far the best content they’ve aired of their high school sports,” Gerbracht said. “When I explained to him that it was mostly volunteers, he could not believe it.” 

The station also spawned an Emmy award-winning program. Philip Leiter, who has worked with HCTV for nearly 25 years, and former HCTV staffer Phil Sieb, brought home the golden statuette from the 55th Great Lakes Emmy Awards ceremony last June for their documentary The Master Craftsman. The 30-minute film delves into the artistry and expertise of Hudson chairmaker Richard Grell and won in the Lifestyle category. 

In addition to its own programming, HCTV includes a public access arm. The studio is open to the public and anyone from the community is welcome to produce their own shows free of charge. 

“We are here to help them with the equipment and people are even allowed to take equipment home to do filming,” Gerbracht said. “For example, we have a Boy Scout troop that borrows our equipment to record their experiences at the Pinewood Derby.” 

Gerbracht added that while HCTV tries to cover as many community events as possible, there are times they don’t have enough staff or volunteers to cover certain events. 

“That is why it is good to let us know about an event you want us to cover as soon as possible,” he said. “Although you can also borrow our equipment and film the event. We welcome anyone to do that.” 

While HCTV programming is aired on Spectrum, community members have many options to view HCTV programming. Viewers can see live streams on HCTV’s Facebook page and can also watch HCTV on demand at vimeo.com/hudsoncommunitytv/videos. HCTV livestream can be viewed at 1021.hudsoncommunity.tv. 

Gerbracht said that in 2019 HCTV worked with Kent State to develop a phone-based app for HCTV. While the app is no longer in existence, the organization is looking into launching a new app next year that viewers can install on their phone or tablet. For more information about Hudson Community Television, visit hudson.oh.us/103/hudson-community-tv.

photo caption: HCTV staffers and volunteers (l-r) Station Manager Dan Gerbracht, Nick Zaklanovich (volunteer), Meg Andrus, Phil Leiter, Natalie Gilles and Patrick Miller (volunteer) take the stage prior to the Hudson High School’s May 2024 graduation ceremony at Blossom Music Center. Photos submitted.