MISSION VIEJO : They Want--and Get--Their MVTV

Local cable television will debut here Saturday, and it seems that everybody wants their MVTV.

Although Mission Viejo Television will go on the air with a simple rolling message board, community groups and individuals are clamoring to participate in the first city-generated programming in South County.

“If calling it MVTV helps people remember us, that’s great,” said Danian Hopp, Mission Viejo assistant city manager, referring to the popular Music Television cable station. “I think it jazzes up our image.”

But MVTV will be more than a catchy name and a television bulletin board, Hopp said.

The first shows won’t air for three more months, but the cable outlet already has its own 4,000-square-foot studio at Mission Viejo High School, filled with $400,000 in video equipment acquired mainly through grants given to the school and the city.

Community programs? Try story hours, local plays, sporting events and concerts, specialized programs for seniors, students, animal lovers and homeowners associations.

There will also be political shows, like televised town hall meetings and election night coverage.

The list doesn’t even include ideas pouring in from residents and nonprofit groups. And there was plenty of comment after a mention of MVTV in the city newsletter last week.

A few days after the brief was published, City Hall had received 19 calls from people wanting to volunteer in some capacity and organizations wanting their own MVTV show.

“We’re so excited. This will be a great opportunity for us to get a message to the community,” said Pat Paschang, vice president of the Friends of Mission Viejo Animals, which helps find homes for strays.

“Our plans are not just for a pet-of-the-week feature; we want to educate people. This channel will reach the average homeowner, the people who live in Mission Viejo.”

Much of the programming will be educational and informative. Hopp hopes to see local teachers on television, taking phone calls from students on some subject.

In addition to animal friends, organizations like the Lake Mission Viejo Homeowners Assn. and the Mission Viejo Rotarians have expressed interest in producing their own show.

Education will start in the studio of MVTV. Under a joint operating agreement with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, Mission Viejo High School students will be responsible for many broadcasts under a television production program at the school.

The cable channel will operate with an annual budget of $52,000, which is paid by franchise fees collected by Dimension Cable Co., a Times Mirror subsidiary that is the city’s cable television operator.

But city officials plan to run MVTV like a commercial television station. Sponsors from the business community are being sought, and user fees will be charged for programs like the community bulletin board.

Under MVTV, “students get hands-on training, residents get local programming and businesses sponsoring the shows get promotional value,” Hopp said. “It’s kind of like the United Way: MVTV will work for all of us.”