MVTV pulls plug on TV - West Central Tribune

As of Monday, Minnesota Valley Television no longer broadcasts television signals from its tower in Granite Falls.

Pulling the plug on television will allow the member-owned cooperative to focus more resources on the internet services offered by MVTV Wireless, which continues to grow and expand, according to Pam Rosenau, marketing and development and community liaison for MVTV.

MVTV originally began in the 1950s to rebroadcast television signals from the Twin Cities to residents within a 25- to 30-mile radius of Granite Falls with a UHF transmitter, no different than UHF Television Inc. which serves the Willmar area.

(Read more about Willmar's UHF Television Inc. here.)

Five years ago, MVTV invested in a system to broadcast scrambled television signals to paying subscribers in place of its reliance on voluntary contributions. It allowed the cooperative to offer an expanded list of channels, including premium channels such as ESPN. It was heralded as a means to provide a wireless version of cable TV to rural residents.

At its peak, the scrambled system had only 230 customers, as compared to the 2,500 customers who had voluntarily paid dues for the free, over-the-air UHF system.

Rosenau said the scrambled system faced a number of challenges. The costs for the equipment and its maintenance were higher. Also, MVTV was paying ever-increasing costs for the premium channels it could now offer. It proved difficult to keep subscriber costs low enough to attract the number of customers it needed, she said.

MVTV decided to end the scrambled service and return to a voluntary donation system last year. Rosenau said only a handful of viewers responded with contributions. While the over-the-air system can cost as much as $8,000 a month to provide, donations in total amounted to only around $2,000.

The demise of the local television service reflects larger changes taking place in the media landscape, according to Rosenau. “The way we know TV is going away,” she said.

One of the biggest challenges the scrambled system faced is the steady transition by television viewers to internet streaming. Online streaming is increasingly pulling customers from both satellite and cable services as well, she said.

That’s actually good news for MVTV, which is all about providing wireless internet service. Since its launch in 1999, the MVTV Wireless internet system has grown to serve approximately 5,500 customers in a 26,000-square-mile area that includes 27 counties. Eighty percent of its customers have a township address.

Rural customers rely on digital capacity, she said. Many of its customers are farmers who use it for everything from GPS systems on tractors to marketing. And, of course, many rely on the internet to stream their television.

MVTV has consistently invested in growth and improvements to its system, according to Rosenau. It added 42 new access sites in the past year alone as it continues to expand its service area.

Rosenau said it will soon be rolling out the latest 4G wireless system, known as LTE or long-term evolution equipment, to customers in Lincoln, Lyon, Yellow Medicine and parts of Chippewa and Renville counties.

It’s important to continue to upgrade and grow and add more value for customers, Rosenau said. “The times are demanding more,” she said.

The end of the over-the-air television service will not result in any loss of jobs in the MVTV system. She said letters had been sent in early December to all of those who had contributed to the system to advise them of its end. She said MVTV only received a couple of calls in response.

While the decision to end television service was a financial one, it was not easy. The hardest part, Rosenau said, is knowing there have been viewers donating and supporting it for as much as 50 and 60 years.

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MVTV pulls plug on TV - West Central Tribune
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