Nine North - FAQ

About NineNorth

Frequently Asked Questions


NineNorth, also known as North Suburban Access Corporation (NSAC), is a nonprofit organization that provides services for our nine cities. These FAQ’s are related to NineNorth. For more information about the NSCC governance side, please click the governance page.

You can contact a specific staff member by referencing our Meet the Team page or send us an email at info@ninenorth.org. Our direct phone number is (651) 792-7515.

Check out our location and directions on our page. We love visitors!

Our office hours are 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.

NineNorth is part of a Joint Power Agreement between our nine cities: Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, Roseville, and St. Anthony. Our focus is content related to these cities.

Our cable television channels can be seen on Comcast and on our website.

Community Access – Featuring content created by our citizens, Comcast 19.

Education Access – Featuring programming that is produced by our school districts, Comcast 18 and 20.

Government Access and Flagship – Featuring programming produced by NineNorth staff, Comcast 15 and 859.

Government Access – Featuring sports programming, Comcast 14 and 799.

Government Access – Featuring municipal programming, Comcast 16.

For more information on channel line ups, check out our Access Channel Policy..

 

 

We share a similar history with many other Community Media Centers around the country. CTV was founded in 1991 as an agreement between Comcast cable service, and the cities of Arden Hills, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, Roseville, Shoreview and St.Anthony. In exchange for a small fee from cable subscribers, Comcast agreed to reserve several PEG channels for citizens, also known as Public, Education, and Government Access Channels. These are the channels we fill programming for. 

 

Since our beginning, our purpose has been to help develop citizen-led programs, and cover local public and government events, such as municipal meetings. We have had many changes along the way. Read our full origin story here! 

Unfortunately, if you have Dish or Direct TV, you will not be able to see our channels on your TV. However, we do webcast our productions live and provide web-based video playback on our website.

NineNorth is part of the North Suburban Communications Commission. Part of our charge is to ensure our residents are receiving quality cable services. If you are having an issue with your cable bill, please call your cable provider directly first. If you are unable to resolve your issue internally, please call our main line at (651) 792-7515 to speak to a team member or send us a message via our complaint form. A team member will investigate your complaint and work with the Company toward a resolution. Your complaint will go on official record.

Residents of NineNorth nine partner cities can submit community programming to be cablecast on Public Channel 19. Residents must fill out and sign a Statement of Compliance form and submit content either with a flash drive, external hard drive or an online download link. All content must meet NineNorth programming guidelines and policies.

Nine city residents can contact us about any upcoming events they think NineNorth should know about and would provide quality information for our cities. If the project meets our Vision and we have the resources, we may be able to produce it! Email your ideas to info@ninenorth.org. We cannot guarantee coverage events, however we do provide production services related to event coverage. Please contact us for your free quote.

As of January 1st, 2019, NineNorth has eliminated public access. For former producers who need resources, our team has compiled a list of open source and inexpensive equipment that can help you with your programs. We also have a list of local Access Facilities that still offer public access. We do not assist in facilitating the creation of programming, but we do still take complete programs for airing on our Public Access Channel, Comcast 19.

NineNorth is strongly supported by volunteers who enjoy media and video production. We have studio and truck productions that are excellent ways to gain experience in media, exercise your creativity, and make life-long friends.

We ask all of our volunteers to participate in an orientation and training. All volunteers must sign the volunteer handbook prior to participation. If you are interested in learning more about volunteering, please contact us.

We are an active television station and we are always looking for enthusiastic students to join our team and work towards achieving our mission. Check out our internship page for more information.

NineNorth is not funded by general tax dollars, but instead receives funding through cable user fees. These fees are listed on your monthly cable bill as a franchise fee and a Public, Education and Government (PEG) fee. These fees, combined with the revenue generated from our core services, community partnerships, grants, and sponsorship that provides the funding necessary to operate our organization.

Interested in more information about video content creation?