Government-access television

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Members of the Seattle City Council interviewed on "Civic Cocktail" on the government-access television Seattle Channel, March 30, 2015.

In the United States, government-access television (GATV) is a type of specialty television channel created by government entities (generally local governments) and broadcast over cable TV systems or, in some cases, over-the-air broadcast television stations. GATV programming generally deals with public affairs, board meetings (i.e. municipal council, county commission, and school board), explanation of government services, and other public-service related programming such as public service announcements and longer public information films.

In the United States, laws regarding GATV are contained in the US Code, title 47, section 531 (47 U.S.C. § 531), and are enforced by the Federal Communications Commission. Since cable systems are privately owned entities (unlike broadcast television), the must-carry requirement for GATV channels is often drawn out in local franchising agreements for the municipality or county it operates in.

GATV is often associated with public-access television, such as with the term PEG channels.

Statewide government access channels

Caption text
U.S. state	Network
File:Flag of California.svg California	The California Channel
File:Flag of Connecticut.svg Connecticut	Connecticut Network
File:Flag of Florida.svg Florida	The Florida Channel
File:Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois	Illinois Channel
File:Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan	Michigan Government Television
File:Flag of Montana.svg Montana	TVMT
Template:Country data New York	NY-SCAN (defunct)
File:Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio	The Ohio Channel
File:Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon	The Oregon Channel (defunct)
File:Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Cable Network
Template:Country data Washington	TVW (Washington)
File:Flag of Wisconsin.svg Wisconsin	WisconsinEye