History of Hershey’s Mill Cable TV
From 1993–2021
Channel 20 began in 1993 founded by Milton Brown, then a resident of Newbury Village. He felt this community needed a presence on cable TV to provide communications and entertainment to the residents of Hershey’s Mill. He and a retired KYW cameraman, also a resident, would shoot videos in Milt’s basement.
Shortly after, $5,000 “seed” money was borrowed from the HOA to buy an Amiga computer for the TV bulletin board system. This basic concept has not changed, but it has been greatly expanded to fill the needs of this present-day community.
Along with the TV presence, our first TV-Guide was published in April of 1997. It consisted of only four pages, two in black and white. The inside pages showed the grid for the Happenings program times, movies, and tee times. We only had three print ads in that issue out of a total of seven advertisers. It was a small start, but the beginning of better things to come.
We started our operation by sharing office space with the Community Center (Winfield Hall) staff. We outgrew the space and moved to the Paoli Room. Our on-air equipment was located in a shack where Suburban Cable’s service was connected. Suburban Cable was bought out by Comcast, but the shack and equipment remained.
Changing our programming required a trip by car to the shack, located on Greenhill Rd. toward Rt 352 just above our Security building. As we expanded, our needs outgrew the Paoli Room facilities. Wooldridge Construction built our present facility, and we moved in 2000. This provided additional office space, a studio, and a video editing room.
In winter, the ground around the shack often was a sheet of ice. I was very happy to move our on-air equipment into our present facility. In 2010 we added additional office space, a conference room, and storage.
Our growth and operation of Ch. 20 (now HMCTV) is completely paid for by the advertising revenue we receive from our advertisers. Residents do not pay anything toward the operation of HMCTV. All monies that were borrowed or received via a bank loan to fund expansions were paid back quickly.
At the present time, the Guide & Digest has been expanded to 72 color pages per issue, including numerous articles of community interest. Our advertising now includes over 40 advertisers. All of this would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteer staff, which has been instrumental in the ongoing success of our station.
Another HMCTV event is our summer concert series, which is a favorite. We try to book the bands that play the songs we all remember. It’s a great summer party!
We also have our own website at https://hersheysmill.org. This community website provides residents access to the latest Activities Calendar (updated weekly), village events, and many other interesting links. Tech Tips is also there, which includes past articles from Guide & Digest.
In February 2010, we put HMCTV on the Internet with the ability to stream our Happenings program. To view Happenings on your computer, go to our website and navigate to:
TV & Digest → HMCTV → Original Programming → HMC-TV’s Happenings Programs.
If you have missed a show or vacation in Florida in the winter and want to stay in touch, Channel 970 is at your fingertips.
HMCTV is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that operates 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. It offers our Happenings program, popular movies, a computerized bulletin board, and summer concerts. We also publish the monthly Guide & Digest and a yearly Resident Directory. HMCTV is a separate entity and is not part of the HM Administration.
Channel 20 to HMCTV
Channel 20 began in 1993 founded by Milton Brown, then a resident of Newbury Village. He felt this community needed a presence on cable TV to provide communications and entertainment to the residents of Hershey’s Mill. This basic concept remains but has expanded to meet the community’s needs.
Our first TV-Guide was published in April 1997 with only four pages, two in black and white, showing the Happenings schedule, movies, and tee times. We had only three print ads out of seven advertisers. A small beginning, but it launched greater things.
As we expanded, our needs outgrew the Paoli Room in the Community Center, and we added office space, a meeting room, and storage. Our growth and operation of Ch. 20 (now HMCTV) have always been funded by advertising—not by resident fees.
The TV-Guide & Digest has grown to over 60 color pages per issue, with many community-interest articles. We now have over 60 advertisers. This success is due to our dedicated volunteer staff.
HMCTV also hosts a popular summer concert series featuring music everyone remembers—a great community event!
Our website www.hersheysmill.org provides access to the Activities Calendar, village news, links, and Tech Tips archives.
In February 2010, we put HMCTV online to show our Happenings program. To view it: go to the website → click Happenings → click Happenings TV Program.
If you miss a show or spend winters in Florida, now (Verizon FIOS channels 1970 and 1971) keeps you connected.
HMCTV operates 24/7/365, offering the Happenings program, movies, a computerized bulletin board, and summer concerts.
We publish the monthly TV-Guide & Digest, the annual Resident Directory, and also the Resident’s Website .