More people in La Plata County will be able to watch Durango city government at work in the coming weeks.
City Span 10 is becoming DGOV, or Durango Government Television, and is now available over the air in La Plata County, said Sherri Dugdale, assistant to the city manager.
DGOV is also going to be available in HD in the coming months as part of a new franchise agreement recently approved by Durango City Council.
DGOV airs council meetings, Durango Public Library’s story time, headlines from The Durango Herald and special informational pieces about city issues, such as the wastewater treatment plant.
The new over-the-air coverage in La Plata County started last week and is available mostly in Durango and the southeast part of the county.
The coverage is expected to be expanded further to the northwest and eastern parts of the county in the next two weeks, as technical problems are resolved.
When the service is at full function, it will be available in Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio.
The new service was made possible through a contract with the Excellence in Christian Broadcasting, a nonprofit that owns local infrastructure, and a Federal Communications Commission licence.
It was important to the city to provide the service because this part of the state is somewhat isolated and doesn’t receive news from other parts of the state, Dugdale said.
“The opportunity presented itself: How could we not take it?” she said.
Residents will need to scan for channels to pick up the new service available on channel 10.1.
Sometime in the next four months, DGOV will also be available on a high-definition Charter Cable channel. But the city does not know which channel yet.
The city has been negotiating with Charter to get a high-definition channel because many people watch just the high-definition channels provided, she said.
Service on Charter cable channel 191 in regular definition will continue.
The service is partially supported by an agreement with Charter. Charter also collects a 50-cent fee from customers that the city uses to purchase equipment for the channel. This raises about $20,000 annually.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
