WestCAT Now Broadcasting on Verizon Network

As it continues its efforts to unite Westwood through a local broadcasting network, Westwood Community Access Television (WestCAT) announced last week that it is now airing on two channels on the Verizon Network. 

"We are currently visible on Verizon for Verizon customers right now," Adam Long, WestCAT's Executive Director, said Tuesday. 

Government Access programs can be seen on Channel 32, while Educational and Community Access programs will be visible on Channel 42. 

At the moment, all that is visible on either channel is a graphic that welcomes viewers to the future home for WestCAT programming, but Long said he hopes to begin airing taped programs by week's end. 

"I'm gathering content right now," he said. "It's going to be a little while before things start filling up."

Verizon customers are in the minority, Long said; most residents in town use Comcast service. While he wasn't immediately sure of the ration between the two, Long estimated that about 20 percent of residents are Verizon customers. 

WestCAT is currently in the negotiating process to start airing on Comcast, but Long said it's not exactly clear when that will take place 

"Basically, my server, it's a large hard drive and it stores everything for TV and everything for internet files and things like that," Long said. "I control the entire station through a computer program; I make my playlist like you look at a TV guide. You just make sure everything's lined up in time."

Anything that Long programs to air from the WestCAT office at Westwood Town Hall is transmitted to a Verizon hub in Burlington, which then transmits the program back to Verizon customers in Westwood, Long said. 

"By the end of the week, I'm going to have enough stuff that our channel has stuff up there, and (residents) can choose," he said. "Everything in between will be our bulletin board, where you can find stuff from the town's newsletter to public service announcements to emergency preparedness information."

Broadcasting on television is a main mission of WestCAT, which, before its collaboration with Verizon, was only accessible online at WestCAT.tv, a site at which residents can stream taped videos of town board meetings and various events.

"It's a great tool for the town to give out information that they could put in their newsletter," Long said. "It's a little more accessible on TV."

Long is WestCAT's first full-time employee, and. He said that being able to broadcast on Verizon is simply a stepping stone in getting to where he'd like to see WestCAT go. 

"When I first got in here, my main thing was to make myself visible in town, promote my brand, try to make sure I'd meet everybody in town, let them be aware of the benefits that they get to relay information to the town, and I actually pretty much met, with the exception of a couple people, every board member," Long said. "Outreach was my Number One thing with internal parts of town, and now that we're on the air . . . my main focus is going to be continuing those relationships I already built and apply them to WestCAT."

From there, Long said he hopes to engage in more outreach to the public to the public.

"That's going to be very fun," he said. "I can't wait to meet people and explain to them how fun this could be."