Welcome to MGTV Online

Michigan Government Television (MGTV) is a public affairs initiative of Michigan’s cable industry. Before MGTV was actually formed, the cable industry had been interested for a number of years in a cable network modeled on C-SPAN but covering state government. It had investigated the feasibility of such a network and commissioned a study on how it might be implemented and run.

At the same time that the cable industry was investigating a government cable TV network, Michigan’s governor, John Engler, was also looking into the possibility of initiating a state government network. Governor Engler recognized that the citizens of Michigan could watch the federal government on C-SPAN and their local governments at work on the cable access channels but could not see any part of state government in action on television.

In an effort to correct this, Governor Engler decided to launch a distance learning network, one part of which would be a state government television network. The governor and his staff set about planning MGTV and putting together the necessary equipment to make it happen. Communications Systems Group (CSG), a Detroit-area firm, was hired to act as general contractor for the project. CSG designed and installed the impressive master control room in the Romney office building as well as the control rooms and cameras in the House and Senate chambers, in the Supreme Court chambers, and in the Governor’s press room. In all, nearly $1.5 million was spent on equipment for the project.

The cable television industry in Michigan, recognizing that the ideal model for MGTV would be the highly successful cable network C-SPAN, made a proposal to Governor Engler in December of 1995. The cable industry, which had acted as supporters and advisers throughout the project, offered to take MGTV over and reorganize it as a non-profit 501 (c) 3 corporation with a board of directors composed of cable industry executives. The network would be completely independent of state government, financed by the cable industry through cable subscription fees, and editorial control of programming would reside entirely in the hands of the corporation’s executive director. The governor’s office turned the project over to the cable industry in December 1995.

MGTV was launched on July 15, 1996. Initial programming included House and Senate committees, commission meetings from within the executive branch including the state board of education, press conferences, speeches by major policy makers, and events from the state’s university system.

When it began to air oral arguments from Michigan's Supreme Court in October of 1996, MGTV became the second television network in U.S. history to carry live coverage of a state’s highest court. Live and tape-delayed coverage of the sessions of the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Senate began in October of 1997. The coverage of House and Senate sessions and Supreme Court oral arguments remain the mainstays of MGTV's programming.

MGTV has been available statewide via satellite since February of 1997 and now reaches more than 1.5 million homes, schools, and businesses served by cable television. Programming hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Time and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Central Time.

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