Remembering the Gems of Waterbury SKYE Cable XIII’s Past

Do you ever watch your local community access tv station? Unless a local non-profit steps up, Greater Waterbury will lose SKYE Cable XIII for good. I've been watching their programming since the days of Sammons, remember them? There have been some incredible programs over the years.

I'm one of the few people that pays attention and still watches our local community access tv channels. My love of Waterbury's public access channel started in the 1980's. In 1991, I was a contestant on Waterbury's version of a game show called 'The Ultimate Challenge', I lost, but that moment being behind a professional camera, with sound techs and a crew running an actual broadcast made me start to think that I could actually be a broadcaster. I worked with Nick Coscia at East Mountain Golf Course during the mid 90's, when he and Andy Michaud held most everyone in Waterbury politics accountable.

The show that has stuck in my brain since that era though was Do Dat, basically it was a half an hour of tight shots of scantily-clad women, set against various music beds and samples.

The Ultimate Challenge was taped inside the studio on Huntington Ave in Waterbury, well before Comcast bought the building. SKYE XIII's broadcast facilities moved into the plaza next to the now-former movie theaters on Sharon Road many years ago. According to a Public Notice posted to rep-am.com on 3-22-24, the Greater Waterbury Cable Council is searching for a Non-Profit to take over SKYE XIII's operations. Interested parties were given an April 8, 2024 deadline to file a petition to assume responsibility.