CONNEAUT – The Conneaut Cable Advisory Board is in the midst of a radical shift.
All of the CAT-TV programming currently hosted on the Vimeo streaming app and shown on channel 6 of the GreatWave app and channel 1024 on Spectrum cable, will be moved over to YouTube effective Wednesday, Jan. 14.
“I think city council thought that it would be a platform where we could get more viewership,” Cable Advisory Board President Chuck Guglielmo said. “In their words, (YouTube) has easier access to its platform.”
CAT-TV content will no longer be available on the previous platforms in the coming weeks.
All content will now be on www.youtube.com/@cityofconneautpublicaccess and all content currently on Vimeo will be transferred over to YouTube within the next couple of weeks as they start the transition.
Guglielmo is unclear whether the five church services that have been appearing on the television channels and Vimeo will move to the new platform.
“We’ve notified the five churches that we’re making the switch,” Guglielmo said. “We haven’t heard anything back yet. I don’t know if those services are going to go up. I suspect they will.”
All other programming from the Cable Advisory Board will be uploaded to the YouTube channel.
CAT-TV programming includes Guglielmo’s shows, “Around Town with Chuck” and “Inside the Spartans”; Martha Sorohan’s “Hometown Happenings”; historical programming from Kathy Warnes; history, theater, Ashtabula County Animal Protective League and local event programming from Bob Lebzelter; all Conneaut Area City Schools programming including sporting events, concerts, theater programs and school board meetings; Conneaut city council meetings and North Kingsville village council meetings.
With the retirement of longtime Cable Access Coordinator Regis Galvin, City Manager Nick Sanford is editing and uploading content to the YouTube channel until an editor, most likely a part-time position, can be hired.
“I don’t know how he’s doing that (with all of his other duties),” Guglielmo said.
Both TV channels will disappear within approximately 30 days.
“Those channels will fade out,” Guglielmo said. “They will go black. Both of the cable providers have been notified that those channels will no longer be used. Those channels will go dark.”
Most of the Cable Advisory Board is happy with the changes.
“I would say 80 percent, maybe 90 percent (of the Cable Advisory Board) supports the switch,” Guglielmo said.
YouTube seems to be a better platform for the content.
“One of the advantages I noticed (Monday) night, I watched the city council meeting after it was done, was the audio is so much better (than on Vimeo),” Guglielmo said. “The volume is better, you can hear everybody better. The picture was clearer, too. Another advantage (of making the transition), and I agree with city council on this, is it’s easier to get to the content than on Vimeo.”
On the flip side, there is nothing that the cable advisory board will miss when it comes to Vimeo.
“I don’t think we’ll miss anything (from Vimeo),” Guglielmo said. “I like the idea of turning in a show and it immediately goes on YouTube. It’s not where (viewers) have to wait a week to see it. When they’re seeing a show or a meeting, it’s much more current than when they’re seeing it a week or two later and they have to wait to see it at a certain time like with the television channels. On YouTube, they can watch it at their convenience.”
There is a demographic of viewers that might be affected by the changes.
“I think it will be an inconvenience for the people who are 70 and older because they’re accustomed to watching the television stations and they’re not familiar with technology,” Guglielmo said. “It will affect our older viewers.”
Guglielmo, however, also notes most challenges can be overcome.
“If I can navigate it, then anybody can,” Guglielmo said. “All they have to do is click the link (on the City of Conneaut website) and they’re in there.”
