Mid-Coast Television To Pacifica Community Television: "We Should Work Together"

Mike Day and Connie Malach are the husband-and-wife team running the show at Mid-Coast Television (MCTV), the public access station for Coastside communities from Half Moon Bay to Pescadero.

Meeting with them one morning at Caffe Mezzaluna in Half Moon Bay during a break in a series of rainy, dreary days, the duo are amiable, effortlessly picking up where the other leaves off in conversation and seamlessly folding their guest into the details.

No detail is spared, especially when it comes to the future of MCTV, a 25-year-old operation that may soon close its doors.

MCTV has recently come to a crossroads, Malach, president of MCTV, esplained. The San Mateo County Department of Public Works opened the floodgates for other public access stations to , and that same county body has recommended that the City of Half Moon Bay and San Mateo County Board of Supervisors award Pacifica Community Television (PCT) the contract.

PCT was recommended from among three proposals submitted to the county. The other two came from Peninsula TV and MCTV.

But Day, director of MCTV, and Malach are not going to hand over the reigns, in what they call a "hostile takeover", without objection.

"[PCT’s] proposal is incomplete and they haven’t promised to do the things MCTV already does," said Malach.

Day and Malach take issue with the fact that PCT does not provide an on-demand video service similar to MCTV’s, which allows programs to be played back after live airtime and online streaming. (They expressed this concern to .)

In a protest letter to the county, signed by Malach, she wrote "it is not at all clear what programming [Pacifica Community Television] will offer for this level of franchise fee funding." 

A public access station providing programming to the Coastside would be under a contract agreement with both the County of San Mateo and the City of Half Moon Bay, and would typically receive funding from both entities from a portion of what are known as franchise fees.

MCTV requested approximately $73,000 per year from Half Moon Bay and the county in franchise fees for its services, but PCT has not requested a specific dollar amount. 

Day cautioned both the city and the county about choosing PCT over MCTV in the face of a missing pricetag.

But, in a response letter to MCTV's protest of the public works department recommendation, the county stated that franchise fees are not set in stone, so MCTV may not even receive the $73,000 it proposed. 

"We've never heard of an access station that could survive without franchise fees," said Day, speaking about PCT's vagueness when it comes to the sums. "If you don't get PCT to [provide public access television] for a set price, then you ought to let MCTV retain the contract."

The county's move to seek an alternate provider of public access television was not anticipated by the MCTV board.

Under the dire financial circumstances of the state, counties are looking to balance budgets and "[requests for proposals] are quite common these days because of budget pressures," said Malach.

PCT's response to the county's request for proposals was a surprise for Day and Malach, as well.

"I think this is a hostile takeover of a sister access station," said Malach. "Two of the oldest stations (PCT and MCTV) should be working together. We were never contacted by Mr. Anaya (Martin Anaya, director of PCT) in this whole process."

Day and Malach said that there is still a chance that MCTV and PCT could work together to provide Coastside residents with public access television.

According to Malach, it may be the only way to ensure that Coastside programming does not get "diluted" and sees primetime airtime, rather than giving preference to programs produced in Pacifica.

No contracts have been signed by San Mateo County or the City of Half Moon Bay with either PCT or MCTV and the future of a public television station on the Coastside is still undecided. 

"One of the reasons we feel so strongly about this is if the midcoast and south coast lose their station, they will never get it back," said Malach. 

PCT Director Martin Anaya was contacted for comment but has not returned phone calls at the time of publication.