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MAC3TV History
The Mid Michigan Area Cable Consortium began with 6 or 7 original communities joining together in the early 1990’s to create the first cable franchise agreement with the existing cable TV provider. Back then Public Access TV consisted of the City of Alma’s existing City access studio, and Mt. Pleasant’s 8 video tape machines in a janitor’s closet in the Cable company offices. Governmental Access was provided by each member community at their respective City Halls with Mt. Pleasant, Union Township, and Shepherd sharing channel 26 for governmental access and the Cities of Clare and Harrison running independently. In Gratiot County, the governmental access information is run from the City of Alma with modulator and sound control at Charter offices head end.
The Consortium hired an Executive Director in June of 2002, and the Consortium Board of Directors began a new era of development that has led to the support and sustained growth of services to member communities.
In December of 2003 the Mid Michigan Area Cable Consortium celebrated the reaching of a planning milestone with the completion of construction of the new MAC 3 TV Central Office facility. This facility provides all member communities with the opportunity to make use of a wonderful array of equipment and features never before available in the three county areas. Our member communities users and volunteers can make use of a 900 square fully digital video studio for the production and recording of programming, a lineal and non lineal or digital editing suite and the out source loaning of 10 field camera set ups, along with tripods, lighting and audio systems for successful in field program production, and four Mac laptop computers for, “take home” editing.
Looking Ahead
The future of MAC3TV lies in Clare county's Pere Marquette District Library where the newest public access facility is in the process of being completed. Residents of Clare and Harrison will soon be able to take advantage of this lending facility to check out equipment at a much greater convienience, thus adding to our vast programming selection.
