The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We’ve been chasing a dragon for years”
By Katherine Nettles
During their February 10 work session with Gunnison County commissioners, Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) representatives spoke extensively to commissioners about the most recent troubles with over-the-air television. In December MetRec had five stations running and had to make decisions in early February to halt service on a few of them. The service is scheduled to end entirely in June. MetRec executive director Derrick Nehrenberg and board president Cassia Cadenhead reviewed the complex situation, as costs to maintain and upgrade the main chain serving Gunnison to Mt. Crested Butte exceeded the annual television services budget. Combined with surveys showing declining household usage, the MetRec board determined last year it was not in the district’s best interest to continue investing in over-the-air television.
Commissioner Laura Puckett Daniels asked if there are other ways to provide TV, whether through internet or phone plans. She acknowledged there are about 335 households total in the county who use the service and asked if a MetRec grant program might apply for low income or senior residents to give them access. Nehrenberg said their title 32 special district bylaws allow them only to broadcast over-the-air TV, and FCC regulations require only over-the-air broadcasting as well.
Commissioner Liz Smith and Puckett Daniels openly questioned whether MetRec could change their status or special district title or update the state restrictions to help get the services to people in need. Nehrenberg said he felt the problem was much bigger than their efforts could match in pushing for change. “We are the last special district in the state that is still doing TV,” he said. Smith asked if there might be other areas who had to give it up but might be interested in participating if they could get a regional partnership started.
Nehrenberg said corporations are abandoning over the air broadcasting. “We’ve been chasing a dragon for years,” he said. He admitted it was frustrating, but “we’re a victim of broader market changes.”
Puckett Daniels suggested that regional partnerships would likely be a MetRec board decision. “They have made a good faith effort,” she acknowledged of the effort to save the main chain to keep over-air-TV viable. Cadenhead said she has challenged herself since 2018 to find a solution, but in casting a wide net there have been decreasing opportunities. They spoke about the painful transition, and Cadenhead said lawyers have repeatedly told her they cannot simply pay for users to access television, even through various changes to their district or statutory regulations.
“I can assure the commissioners that as long as I’ve been here it has operated in good faith above and beyond the call of duty,” said Nehrenberg.
MetRec announced its decision in last spring to phase out its over-the-air TV service in June 2026, with its already-failing remote chain having ended in 2025 and main chain scheduled to end on June 1, 2026.
