Public, educational, and government access

Public, educational, and government access television, (also PEG-TV, PEG channel, PEGA, Local-access television) refers to three different cable television narrowcasting and specialty channels. Public-access television was created in the United States between 1969 and 1971 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has since been mandated under the Cable Communications Act of 1984, which is codified under 47 USC § 531. PEG channels consist of:

1. Public-access television — Generally quite free of editorial control, a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create television programming content which is transmitted through cable TV. The channels are reserved for free or at a minimal cost. The local origination television content revolves primarily around community interest, developed by individuals and nonprofit organizations.
2. Educational-access television – Is distance education, a curated form of educational television, it is a synchronous learning educational technology unique to cable television systems and transmit instructional television programming within city limits. Educational-access channels are generally reserved for educational purposes and are not for government-access or public-access television.

Many schools have adapted educational access channels to enhance school curriculum. Some schools have done this better than others. Although the use of television in schools can be traced to those schools serving the bedroom communities of Manhattan in the 1960s, where executives and technicians of early television lived, the creation of PEG channels expanded the value of television as a school or community resource. Students produced and aired community stories in part to serve community stakeholders and in part to engage in active learning. These schools developed school-based community television as a storytelling laboratory.^[1]

1. Government-access television – Cable channel capacity for the local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable systems to televise public affairs and other civic meetings. Government channels are generally reserved for government purposes and not for education-access or public-access television.
2. Leased access – Cable television channels that are similar to commercial television where a fee is paid-for-services of reserved channel time.
3. Municipal-access television – Is ambiguous, and can refer to hybrid Education/Government channels, with or without public-access television.

As of 2011, several PEGA channels are made in digital format only in certain cable clusters served by Time Warner Cable and Comcast.

See also

• List of public-access TV stations in the United States

References