Brooklyn Free Speech TV

Your borough. Your television.

Brooklyn Free Speech TV provides Brooklyn residents and organizations with an opportunity to voice their ideas, issues and aspirations to their community. Every week, over 650 hours of television programming is provided by Brooklyn-based community producers. The 1st Amendment is in full effect on our Brooklyn Free Speech TV programs: community producers accept responsibility for the production and content of their shows.

Many of our Brooklyn Free Speech TV programs are created by one of our BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producers. Certified producers have access to use our equipment and state-of-the-art facility free of charge. Learn more about the process to become a BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer.

If you are interested in getting your message out to the Brooklyn community, please refer to our FAQ to learn more about the process of submitting a program for cablecast on Brooklyn Free Speech TV.

How do I air a show on the BCAT TV Network?

All programs on the BCAT TV Network must have a Brooklyn-based Program Applicant.

The Program Applicant is the Brooklyn resident (18 years or older) or organization submitting a program for cablecast on the BCAT TV Network.

The Program Applicant accepts liability for the content of the program and responsibility for turning in tapes.

To apply for a timeslot, you'll need to schedule an appointment to have your application processed by our Programming department.

During this appointment, our staff will evaluate your application, validate your identity and Brooklyn residence status as well as explain the process of using our digital ingestion stations to play your program on our channels. If you are not a BCAT Media Center Certified Producer, you will need to bring the program(s) you wish to air on a DVD or loaded onto a USB flash drive.

To schedule an appointment, call 718-935-1122 x 221.

Please bring a completed BCAT TV Network New Time Slot Application Form, a current government-issued photo I.D. (NYS Driver's license or non-driver's license; U.S. or Foreign Passport; U.S. Military ID card; or Resident Alien Card) AND a recent utility bill (no older than 2 months) in your name and address (telephone bill, land-line only; gas; electric; cable; or satellite dish).

If you do not have a utility bill in your name you will need to have someone you live with, who has a utility bill in his or her name, come with you to the BCAT Media Center with their photo I.D. and a copy of the bill. This person will sign a legal form stating that they share a Brooklyn dwelling with you. This form must be filled out in person at the BCAT Media Center.

You can apply for a special timeslot any time of the year or a monthly, Sunday bi-weekly, or weekly timeslot by the quarterly deadline.

When applying (or re-applying) for a new weekly, monthly, or Sunday bi-weekly time slot, you'll need to submit finished episodes with your application:

New weekly series must submit four (4) installments with the application.
New Sunday bi-weekly shows must submit three (3) installments the application.
New monthly programs must submit one (1) installment with the application.

If you are interested in using the BCAT Media Center facilities to produce programs, you must also become a BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer by successfully complete a Brooklyn Center for Media Education production workshop. You do not need to become a Certified Producer in order to air a show.

How soon will my program air?

The BCAT TV Network changes its cablecast schedule every three months for all weekly and monthly series. To be considered for either a weekly or monthly timeslot, all sponsors must submit programs and a completed BCAT New Time Slot Application Form [PDF] by the following deadlines:

Winter (January-March) from the last Sunday in September to the last Friday in October
Spring (April-June) from the last Sunday in December to the last Friday in January
Summer (July-September) from the last Sunday in March to the last Friday in April
Fall (October-December) from the last Sunday in June to the last Friday in July.

We also accept specials, one-time cablecasts of a program, throughout the year. You can download the Special Application form you'll need in order to submit your special from the website. You will need to schedule an appointment to have your application processed by our Programming Department. To schedule an appointment, please call 718-935-1122 x 221.

How long can programs be?

All series and specials programs must be no longer than 28 minutes in length.

What formats are acceptable?

At this time we allow our community producers to drop of SVHS tapes and DV tapes. However, we encourage that our community producers upload their program via our digital ingestion stations at our BCAT Media Center. Our ingestion stations accept DVDs (with a single episode - no menu, bars and tone), .mp2, .mp4, .mv4, and .mov. To learn more, visit our website explaining the digital transition process. Please note: in the coming months we will have FTP access and will be phasing out the use of any type of tape.

How many programs can I air?

Each program sponsor can have only one (1) time slot per quarter. You can also apply for a special but the program you submit must be significantly different than the program currently airing.

How do I go about airing a Special?

Specials & programs submitted for a one-time airing can be submitted by a Brooklyn resident or Brooklyn-based organization any time during the year.

You will need to schedule an appointment with our Programming Department to have your application processed and have an airdate assigned. To schedule an appointment, please call 718-935-1122 x 221.

Please bring your program burned on a DVD (one program per disc) or loaded on a USP Flash Drive, a completed Special Application, a current government-issued photo I.D. (NYS Driver's license or non-driver's license; U.S. or Foreign Passport; U.S. Military ID card; or Resident Alien Card) AND a recent utility bill (no older than 2 months) in your name and address (telephone bill, land-line only; gas; electric; water; cable; or satellite dish) and we'll schedule your show for cablecast on the BCAT TV Network, usually within the next two weeks.

How many Specials can I submit?

Series sponsors can submit one (1) special per quarter. Those without a series can submit up to four (4) specials per quarter.

How often can I repeat my program?

In order to keep your timeslot, you must submit at least nine (9) unique programs each quarter for a weekly show; five (5) unique programs for a Sunday bi-weekly program; and at least two (2) unique programs for a monthly show. This means that weekly programs can repeat no more than four (4) episodes during the programming quarter; monthly and Sunday bi-weekly programs can repeat only one (1) episode.

Special programs are scheduled to air only once. However, we reserve the right to repeat the program as filler programming as long as the program is in the BCAT TV Network's program library. (Programs will not be given a repeat time-slot during the same week.)

Where can I get more information?

If you would like more information you can download a copy of the BCAT Media Center's Policy & Procedure Handbook.

How To Become a BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer.

In order to use the BCAT Media Center's equipment and the facilities at the BCAT Media Center, you will need to become a BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer. To become a BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer, follow these 3 easy steps:

STEP 1: Orientation
The Brooklyn Center for Media Education’s Orientations and Workshops offers monthly Orientation sessions that give an overview of our policies and procedures. The Orientation is a pre-requisite for all individuals and organizations wishing to take our certification classes in order to use the BCAT Media Center's facilities and equipment to produce their program, regardless of production experience. [Please note: You only need to attend an orientation if you wish to use the BCAT Media Center's equipment to produce a show. It is NOT a prerequisite to airing a show if you plan to use your own equipment.] Click here for a list of upcoming orientation dates.

STEP 2: Workshops
To become certified, complete either the Basic Field Production and Editing Course or the Basic Television Studio Course.

After attending an Orientation session, you can make reservations to participate in one or more of the Brooklyn Center for Media Education’s certification courses. Courses are offered on weekdays, evenings, and Saturdays. The cost of our basic field and studio courses - which result in becoming a certified producer who is eligible to use our facilities free of charge to produce programs for cablecast on the BCAT TV Network - is $98. Please visit our section on media education for a listing of other workshops and courses available. Reservations can be made throughout the year. Spaces are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you wish to enroll in a training class at the Orientation session, you'll need to bring a current government-issues photo I.D. (NYS Driver's license or non-driver's license; U.S. or Foreign Passport; U.S. Military ID card; or Resident Alien Card) AND a recent utility bill (no older than 2 months) in your name and address (telephone bill, land-line only; gas; electric; water; cable; or satellite dish) with you to Orientation.

Space in most workshops is limited to maximize individualized instruction. If a course is fully enrolled, we will place your name next in line for the first available workshop. If you have enrolled for a course but cannot attend, please notify us at 718-935-1122 x 211 at least two weeks in advance. Your enrollment will be transferred to the next available workshop and your fee will be applied to that workshop. If you fail to notify us at least two weeks in advance your registration fee will not be refunded.

STEP 3: Certified Producers
After successfully completing one of our production workshops, you will be granted BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producer status. BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producers are able to use the BCAT Media Center's facilities and equipment at no cost to produce their own programs. BCAT Media Center Certified Community Producers have access to the equipment and facilities only they use said equipment to create a program that will be shown on the BCAT TV Network.

You must have a timeslot assigned to you — either a special, monthly, weekly or Sunday bi-weekly timeslot — in order to use the equipment. In order to maintain your certification you must abide by the rules and regulations as printed in the handbook. Television Studio Certified Producers must volunteer on four shoots (other than their own show) each calendar year; Field/Non-Linear Editing Certified Producers must produce at least one show per calendar year. In addition, you will be asked to resubmit proof of residency and photo ID at least once per calendar year.