Greenwich Community Television is set to retain control of its local government broadcasts after state regulators issued a draft decision denying a bid to fold the station into a regional operation.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) released the draft ruling Tuesday, Sept. 1, rejecting Nutmeg Public Access Television's petition to take over community-access operations from Optimum, Cox and Charter in several Connecticut cable regions. The ruling covers Area 9, the Optimum-served territory that includes Greenwich, Darien, Stamford, Norwalk, New Canaan, Westport, Wilton, Weston, Easton and Redding.

The ruling is not yet final.

PURA found that Nutmeg's plan lacked sufficient operational, financial and logistical detail. The authority also concluded that closing several local studios and replacing them with one regional facility was not in the public interest. The decision followed months of testimony and hundreds of public comments.

PURA said Nutmeg failed to provide sufficient evidence that transferring operational management would serve the best interests of the communities involved. The authority urged all parties to work together toward solutions that improve community access for the residents of Connecticut.

What it means for Greenwich

GCTV, which broadcasts on Channel 79 on Altice/Optimum and Channel 24 on Verizon, provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of Board of Selectmen, RTM, Planning & Zoning and other local board meetings. The League of Women Voters of Greenwich had warned that folding GCTV into a regional channel would make local meetings harder to find and strip the town of programming control.

First Selectman Fred Camillo opposed the petition in a Feb. 13 statement, saying he believed the proposal would reduce visibility of local board and commission meetings and cost Greenwich close to $8,000 a year in local television funding.

Opposition was broad

Optimum, Cox and Charter jointly opposed Nutmeg's petitions, arguing the plan depended on closing six studios and terminating many, if not all, employees. The cable providers said Nutmeg filed without prior notice or outreach.

Jim Cameron, program director of Darien TV79 and vice chair of the Area 9 Cable Council, said the ruling preserves town-specific programming. He thanked "elected officials, community groups and over 100 viewers who wrote to support our cause."

The Area 9 Cable Council is a state-mandated advisory body representing the 10 towns.

No public response from Nutmeg to the draft decision was available as of Sept. 2.

What happens next

The draft decision has been distributed to the parties for comment. PURA will issue a final decision after that review period. No deadline for comments or date for the final ruling has been announced.

Nutmeg's petition also covered three other cable areas beyond Area 9. PURA denied the petition across all four regions.