Communities on Cable, Inc., which does business as HomeTowne Television, is your local community access television station. Communities on Cable, Inc., is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, governed by an all-volunteer Board of Trustees chosen from among the towns of our broadcast coverage area.

Our Guiding Principles

Purpose...
The purpose of HomeTowne Television is to provide community news; coverage of local events and municipal government meetings; information regarding fitness, health and finance topics; and programs about culture, art, education, religion, sports and other subjects of local interest. We care as much about how we communicate as to what we communicate.

Our Mission...
Showcase the people, events and issues important to our families, friends and neighbors. The information provided through our shows educates our viewers/residents to help them better understand and appreciate the community circles we all live within and among. We are a vehicle to encourage viewers to become more involved in the community and to fully engage in their towns. This is our focus.

Our Brand...
HomeTowne Television is synonymous with the best quality in local access programming.
We lead. This is how people know and select us.

A Brief History of HomeTowne Television

Communities on Cable, Inc., a non-profit corporation, began its operations in September 1980 as a public access channel with two black and white cameras and minimal other equipment provided through the generosity of Central Presbyterian Church and the Junior Leagues of Summit and the Oranges/Short Hills. The lines which carried the television signal to viewers’ homes were provided by Suburban Cablevision of East Orange. The fledging local access station served a five town area consisting of Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Millburn/Short Hills, Springfield and Summit. The station began using the name “TV-36” because it could be found on cable channel 36 on Suburban Cablevision.

TV-36 programming grew and evolved over time. Early programming consisted of one series produced by Central Presbyterian Church and two local news “magazine” shows: TV-Millburn and This Week in Summit. Gradually, programming grew to encompass a variety of shows that appealed to a widely diverse audience in the five town area. Over the years we have been privileged to receive several coveted 'Telly Awards' in recognition of outstanding local regional programs.

The means by which viewers access our signal has evolved over the years as well. Suburban Cablevision became Comcast Cablevision of New Jersey. In 2008 a second provider, Verizon, began wiring homes in the five town area. Our station was assigned to channel 33 on Verizon Fios. And to our surprise we soon learned that our signal was showing up on Verizon channel 33 in municipalities outside the original five towns. We now have viewers in Chatham Boro, Chatham Township, Cranford, Florham Park, Kenilworth, Maplewood, West Orange and Union.

The station’s Board of Directors realized that the presence of the station on two different channels, 36 on Comcast and 33 on Verizon, made the name TV-36 obsolete. Thus, the station adopted a new name, HomeTowne Television, starting in the fall of 2008.

Towns In Coverage Broadcast Area

HomeTowne Television broadcasts via Comcast channel 36 to Summit, Millburn/Short Hills, Berkeley Heights, Springfield, and New Providence; and via Verizon channel 33 to the same five towns plus parts of Chatham, Cranford, Florham Park, Kenilworth, Maplewood, West Orange & Union. Although Comcast and Verizon are unable to provide us with specific numbers of households which are receiving our signal, the total population of the towns now served by HTTV is substantial: Over a quarter million people living in almost 100,000 households.

Location Of Our Studios

Communities On Cable, Inc. dba HomeTowne Television is located @ 70 Maple Street in Summit, New Jersey 07901. Our studios are hosted in the building complex within Central Presbyterian Church in Summit New Jersey on the crossroads of Maple Street & Morris Avenue.

Official Media Designation

Effective January 6, 2009, HomeTowne Television was designated once again by the City of Summit as a news media to receive all notices of meetings as required under the Open Public Meetings Act.