About LRPA

Community empowered by media

For more than twenty-five years, Lakes Region Public Access Television has given neighbors a place to speak, watch, and stay connected — on cable and online.

Origins

Public access television came to the Lakes Region in the 1990s through a cable franchise agreement shared by local communities and MetroCast Cablevision. Educational, public, and government access channels (24–26) opened a new lane for civic life on TV — meetings, school boards, and programming produced by people who live here.

Lakes Region Public Access Television went on the air on March 18, 1999, under the direction of Peter Pijoan. From the start, Channel 25 carried local events and public meetings for the communities it served, with a community bulletin board filling the screen between programs. The invitation was simple and lasting: public access means you. Bring an idea; learn the craft; borrow equipment if you need it; volunteer to cover what matters in your town.

A community media center

LRPA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, guided by a board of directors and successive station leaders who have kept the mission steady through changes in technology. Over the years the station has worked from community spaces — including studios associated with Laconia’s Huot Technical Education Center — while training producers, welcoming volunteers, and covering everything from town meetings to signature Lakes Region gatherings.

That work has always been about more than a channel number. It is neighbors recognizing each other on screen, governments becoming more transparent, classrooms and nonprofits sharing announcements, and artists trying something new on a medium that still belongs to the public.

Channels, livestream, and on demand

Today LRPA cablecasts to nearly 12,000 viewers across its member communities of Belmont, Gilford, Laconia, Meredith, and Northwood. Membership has shifted over time — the station has counted as many as thirteen communities since 1999 — while Belknap County support helps keep county meetings on the air.

Programming spans education, public access, and government: school boards and civic meetings, local talk and arts, houses of worship, sports, and special events. As viewing habits moved beyond the living-room cable box, LRPA added livestreaming and video on demand so residents can watch when they can — not only when a meeting airs. Anyone can follow LRPA online at lrpa.org, alongside cable carriage.

Looking ahead

As cable subscriptions declined, LRPA’s board adapted its municipal funding model in spring 2021 so support would remain sustainable and reflect a wider audience that includes streamers, not only cable subscribers. The station continues to navigate a multi-provider cable landscape while staying agile in a streaming-first world — without losing sight of people who still rely on the dial.

The next chapter is the same promise that launched Channel 25: media made with the Lakes Region, for the Lakes Region. Watch live, explore on demand, become a producer, or get involved — and keep community storytelling on the air.

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