PITTSFIELD MA, January 10, 2023 – Pittsfield Community Television (PCTV) has extended closed captioning coverage to include all locally produced studio programming. The expansion includes programming such as Berkshire Matters, Berkshire Senior Television, Berkshire Health Program, Your Italian & Irish Heritage, Berkshire Family History, The Lions Den, Know Your Berkshires, Our Furry Friends, For Your Information, the television simulcast of WTBR’s Morning Drive, and more.
Last year, PCTV began offering closed captioning on local government and school meetings and live sports coverage, and through an FCC complaint, successfully compelled Charter Communications to carry the captioning on the PCTV cable channels.
“We’re pleased to expand this very important service,” said Shawn Serre, Executive Director of Pittsfield Community Television. “We’ve received a positive response from viewers since we began to provide closed captioning on our programming, and we recognize the importance of this key accessibility tool to our viewers,” Serre noted the viewership of the local studio programs that will gain new captioning, including elderly and hearing-impaired viewers. “Those folks should find it much easier to watch this local programming,” he said.
Closed captioning of PCTV programs can be viewed on Access Pittsfield channel 1301, ETV channel 1302, and CityLink channel 1303. Captioning is also available on PCTV Select and on-demand on Pittsfieldtv.org.
Closed captioning on PCTV is made possible through grants from the Feigenbaum Foundation and the Pittsfield Commission on Disabilities.
