About MCTV

MCTV is a nonprofit organization operating as a PEG media center or Public, Education and Government station. There are approximately 2,000 media centers across the country, many are the result of local governments collecting franchise fees from cable companies that operate within their boundaries.
This important telecommunication resource is administered for the public by a non-profit board of directors representing the community and funded in part by a small portion of the cable franchise agreements that cable companies have with the City of Millbrae. The Media Center allows local channels and the public to share resources and provide affordable access to telecast on local cable TV and online for non-local viewers.

MCTV currently manages local channel 27 for the City of Millbrae and provides government channel management and production services to the cities of San Mateo, Brisbane and San Bruno, as well as the SFO Community Roundtable.

Mission

It’s our mission and responsibility to be the bridge of encouragement; fostering civic engagement through community members to express their voice and vision for all residents, businesses, and grassroots organizations. Documenting and preserving the evolving local history to include diversity, representation, transparency, inclusionary, and leadership through the use of media.

Vision Statement

Our vision is to grow our team and provide low-cost and or free media services to all local organizations and groups that represent and encompass every part of our diverse community to promote public participation and civic engagement.

If you have an interest in our vision to strengthen local media, please consider a gift in support of MCTV.

Goals

• Create content that educates and strengthens bonds in our diverse community
• Encourage civic engagement and representation both in our community and in media

Productions Facts

• We love LIVE productions! Each year we look forward to streaming and telecasting live from some of our favorite annual events such as the Lunar New Year Parade & Festival and Millbrae Art & Wine Festival. You’ll also find us covering graduations, groundbreakings, town hall meetings, rallies, cultural celebrations, holiday gatherings and much more.
• Through the support of the City of Millbrae and other partnering organizations, we produce videos documenting the growth of our community, celebrating our diverse populations and capturing milestones in Millbrae and San Mateo County.
• Partners include the Millbrae Chamber of Commerce, Millbrae Cultural Committee, local chapters of the Lions and Rotary Clubs and more, including individual producers to produce events from schools, the Library, local service organizations, churches and businesses.

History

1984

As a result of the Cable Television Act of 1984, Millbrae was granted a single broadcast camera for televising public meetings. After two years of bargaining, an agreement was reached between the City of Millbrae and the cable company, which agreed to provide $57,000 toward the equipment needed to start a community television station. One of the first cities in the region to adopt PEG, Millbrae had the means to broadcast live and videotape city events even if it didn’t have the know-how at the time.

1997

Millbrae Community Television (MCTV) is born! As a fledgling nonprofit tasked with managing the PEG station, the organization first operated out of van, then a trailer and eventually moved to a 250-square foot office at City Hall, where a small staff with barely enough elbow room managed a robust station covering local and county affairs. At the same time, MCTV began expanding its professional services to other cities.

2007

On our 10th anniversary, MCTV inaugurated live streaming over the internet and video on demand, years ahead of our neighboring cities.

2011

MCTV became the first community station in San Mateo County to offer live video streaming to mobile phones and tablets, both iOS and Android. We have a fiber network that reaches out to our Recreation Center, Library, Taylor Middle and Mills High schools to provide LIVE streaming video and television, courtesy of our Comcast franchise agreement.

2015

With generous support from the City of Millbrae, MCTV opened the North Peninsula Community Media Center in a formerly unused space at City Hall. The Media Center embodies a vision developed nearly 20 years ago by Millbrae citizens for a space in which the community can learn, share and grow by telling their stories. MCTV knows everyone and every organization has a story to tell. It is our mission to help tell those stories to our community.