A Familiar, But New WPAA-TV Launches In Wallingford

WALLINGFORD, CT — WPAA-TV announces several updates, including a big change for the station with a new HD cablecast system and hybrid TV production method designed last year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Other updates include a “live” movie premiere event featuring a cartoon movie produced by a local creative team, a local animator winning a national award and WPAA-TV also winning an award.

Read more from the news release below:

“Community TV exists to uplift local voices and showcase talent,” said Susan Huizenga, Wallingford Public Access Association’s Executive Director. “On June 1st we plan to do just that.”

With a new HD cablecast system, and hybrid TV production method designed last year in response to COVID-19, WPAA-TV is premiering Space Bears the Movie on TV and the public Internet.

Show time is June 1 at 7 p.m. on all the platforms used by WPAA-TV: Comcast Channel 18/1070 in Wallingford, 6091 on Frontier, Roku (wpaa) and streaming on the station’s HD Internet Channel on the website wpaa.tv.

The movie and talkback will stream LIVE from studioW. The animated children’s cartoon precedes a conversation between the creative team and aspiring local filmmakers. All the young filmmakers have made 3-minute movies in the challenges hosted by WPAA-TV three times a year since 2018. They will participate remotely.

Premiers are not new. Since Nov. 2017, WPAA-TV has premiered episodic releases of sci-fi drama, The Sparrow Falling. However, the ability to stream content in HD is new. The new cablecast system is in development with LinearBroadcast.com, a local tech company. WPAA-TV is a beta location. The ‘live’ feature planned for Tuesday evening is a first for this system.

What never gets old is celebrating our local producers. WPAA-TV underwrites festival fees for our exceptional independent producers. As a community TV production, The Sparrow Falling won first place regionally for episode #3, and nationally, for #4 in recent Alliance for Community Media (ACM) Film Festivals.

Space Cub Studio in Wallingford is now an Alliance award winner. In a virtual national ACM ceremony later this month, Michael and Madison Schleif will accept the award for best, in both animation and children’s programming, for Space Bears Adventure #9, Starpower Space Gem. Since August 2020, Space Bears adventures has been featured content during Story Time, weekdays on WPAA-TV at 4:30 PM for viewers 10 and under. Some of the movies’ characters were introduced in adventure #9.

The technical changes being deployed with this premiere position WPAA-TV for a future without cable TV. This is significant since 60% of WPAA-TV funding is cable TV fees.

President Herb Jackson said, “If 2020 taught anything, it is to focus on why we exist. Then, figure out how to get things done.” Board member Helen Hoelck reiterates that “the station is more than just TV with many ways to connect with the arts.”

Viewer and user feedback echoes one theme: the station is a gem, a great platform for the community and an amazing community presence for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Winning Best in the USA for our size for a second time for our work in 2020 reaffirms these sentiments. But our survival is dependent on grassroots donations. As cable fees dwindle, WPAA-TV seeks support from at least 4,000 households. With a $5 a year donation to the Freeman’s Purse Campaign, Wallingford’s voices and talent can be uplifted for years to come.