NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
12 May 2003

NEW CITY/COMCAST TELEVISION STUDIO OPENS DOWNTOWN; CITY GOVERNMENT ACCESS STATION TO TELEVISE FULLTIME BEGINNING JUNE 1

Harrisburg, PA — Mayor Stephen R. Reed, joined by Governor Ed Rendell and Comcast regional Vice President Ed Pardini and members of Harrisbrg City Council, today dedicated the city’s new television studio and broadcast center at 223 Walnut Street. The state-of-the-art facility will be used by the city and Comcast’s flagship CN8 cable network, whose popular Comcast Newsmakers segments will be taped at the new production facility.

Reed said today’s grand opening “represents a significant investment by Comcast and the city in the future broadcasting and public information capabilities of Harrisburg and the Capital Region.”

The new studio and office space houses the Mayor’s newly-created advanced multi-media technology initiative known as the Harrisburg Broadcast Network(HBN), which when fully operational, will include the flagship WHBG TV 20(Channel 20 on the cable dial), an additional education-formatted cable channel, live daily webcasting capability over the city’s popular website, www.harrisburgcity.com and a low-power FM radio station, all of which will serve to enhance the city’s and region’s public information capabilities, and provide educational opportunities for area students interested in broadcasting careers.

Reed noted that all of the HBN affiliates will be operational in time for the grand opening of the planned Harrisburg Polytechnic Institute and its high school preparatory school, the Polytechnic Prep School on Market Street, both of which will conduct educational programming in the new facility.

The Mayor lauded Comcast and its strong commitment to the City of Harrisburg and its adjoining Comcast-served municipalities, who will also be provided access to the facility and the government/public information-oriented cable television channels. “Comcast’s rapid growth into one of this Nation’s largest providers of cable television and internet services has been the result of bold and visionary management and business practices, as are clearly evidenced by the unique partnership they have formed with local government to create this exciting new facility.”

Comcast built the studio in partial fulfillment of obligations contained in the company’s franchise agreement with the City. The city and Comcast shared in construction costs, and the facility and cable channels will be made available to all 31 midstate communities served by Comcast’s Harrisburg System.

Ed Pardini, Comcast Regional Vice President, in addressing the grand opening audience of hundreds of midstate elected officials and civic leaders, said “Comcast takes great pride in being a Pennsylvania-based company, and we’re especially thrilled to play a major role in completing this state-of-the-art television production studio right here in our state capital.

“But this facility is about much more than lights, cameras and editing suites. It is an investment that underscores our deep commitment to state and local government, and to the vital task of delivering timely, local information to citizens in the communities we are privileged to serve.”

Pardini joined Mayor Reed and Governor Ed Rendell and other local officials in a ceremonial ribbon cutting, with the Governor, Mayor and other state and local officials taping promotional spots for Comcast as the first video productions to take place in the new studios.

It is estimated that more than 25 Comcast Newsmakers segments will be taped each month in the Harrisburg studio. Produced by CN8, Newsmakers is a five- minute interview segment that airs throughout the day on CNN Headline News, twice an hour. Regional issues air at twenty-five minutes past the hour with local segments airing at five minutes before the hour. Comcast Newsmakers conducts more than 350 tapings each month in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

The Mayor said the city expects to launch its fulltime flagship station WHBG TV-20, on June 1. The channel will feature local government meetings and events of public interest, educational and public affairs programming. The city will serve as the lead agency in creating a new regional governmental broadcasting entity that will provide broadcasting opportunities for all of the municipalities in the Harrisburg cable system area that wish to have their meetings broadcast on television. WHBG TV-20 will be aired throughout the Harrisburg regional system.

Reed said the city has hired W. Chad Edwards as HBN’s new Executive Director, and Marva Brown as Community Relations Director. Both began their duties last week and will be employed fulltime by the city with Edwards responsible for overall Network development and operations, and Brown overseeing sponsor support activities and community relations.

The Mayor said the Harrisburg Broadcast Network will be open weekdays at 223 Walnut Street in the heart of downtown, and can be contacted at (717) 255.6570. Within the next several weeks HBN will also have their website up and running at www.harrisburgbroadcastnetwork.tv, provided by Comcast Digital Internet service.

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