State Representative Mitch Bolinsky (R-106) contacted The Newtown Bee’s office this Wednesday with potentially distressing news — a company called Nutmeg Television was looking to take over Charter Communications. As part of this takeover, it was looking to eliminate all seven public access studios that Charter owns and runs, including the one at 11 Commerce Road here in Newtown.

While there was no chance to write a full story on this breaking news — at bare minimum this requires contact with both Charter and Nutmeg to write a fair and balanced story — it seemed like this was an opportunity to give readers some of what we already know ahead of our full story next week, as well as a chance to once again plug our public access studio.

In a letter of opposition to the takeover to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), Bolinsky and State Representative Martin Foncello (R-107) wrote, "We are deeply concerned and hereby in opposition to Nutmeg Television's proposed operating plan. The proposal would close the Newtown studio, along with elimination of six other existing local studios — seven, in all — throughout Connecticut and replace them with a single regional facility. Such an approach represents a significant reduction in local access and would fundamentally change the manner in which community access services are delivered."

They continued, "The public good is not served by a proposal that takes away our users’ existing access to our reliable, established local resources without demonstrating how a single regional location can provide an equivalent level of service. Residents in our communities should not lose the accessibility and individualized support they currently receive through a local studio that has successfully served the franchise area for many years."

The Bee most recently wrote about the public access studio in August 2025, chronicling LeahJoy Pearson, a Southbury resident, and her show, Speak Your Mind. Pearson used Newtown Spectrum’s local access channel to feature local artists and help them grow.

Charter Communications operates designated community access channels within its video service areas that provide local residents with public access television opportunities. Channel 192 is the designated public access channel for Spectrum customers. Residents living in its designated service area have the opportunity to produce and cablecast non-commercial programming. Consult its Public Access Rules and Guidelines for complete details or contact the local studio to speak with one of Charter Communications’ public access coordinators.

Charter Communications’ production facilities are available to residents living within the service area. A copy of proof of residency must accompany the application to be processed (as evidenced by a driver's license, state ID card, utility bill, land line phone bill, tax bill, and/or nonprofit tax-exempt document 501(c)(3). Post office box addresses will not qualify.

The Western Connecticut Community Access studio in Newtown is located at 11 Commerce Road, Newtown, CT 06470. It serves local residents with free video production training, editing suites, and a three-camera TV studio that airs community programming on Spectrum Channel 192 and Frontier Channel 6088.

It would be a shame for Newtown to lose easy access to such a valuable communication resource that allows those interested a wide and diverse local audience to a wide variety of topics. The Newtown Bee will continue to follow this story with the hope that the studio can be preserved.