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TCTV is the public access television channel of Thurston County, Washington - the community's own channel for Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater and the south Puget Sound region, operated by the non-profit Thurston Community Media. Broadcasting on cable channel 22 around the clock, it carries programs produced by residents, community groups and local organizations, and its signal also streams live online.

The organization behind the channel dates to 1982, when an informal study group called the Capital Area Community Television Association began organizing for community television; it was incorporated as a non-profit in 1983 and became Thurston Community Television in 1986, the year service contracts with Olympia, Lacey and Thurston County took effect. Tumwater joined in 1995, and in 2016 the organization adopted its present name, Thurston Community Media.

Programming by the Community

The schedule is public access television at its most direct: programs made by residents on everything from local music to gardening to civic affairs, alongside content from non-profit organizations and schools. Thurston Community Media assists residents, organizations and agencies in producing their programs, while editorial responsibility for the content stays with the producers themselves - a commitment to free expression that has defined the channel since its first broadcasts.

In 2023 the organization stopped providing government and education access services as local jurisdictions took their communications in-house, and the channel now concentrates on public access programming and community-made media, distributed over cable channel 22, streaming platforms and the organization's video outlets.

Studios, Classes and Media Makers

Thurston Community Media operates from Yauger Way in Olympia, where Studio A - the facility's largest stage - anchors a production house built for video production, photography and live broadcasts. The non-profit runs classes in digital media skills, rents studio space and equipment to members, and offers professional editing and production services; membership tiers run from the Media Maker level to plans for non-profits, businesses and government users, and a volunteer programme supports training and community events.

From Cable Franchise to Streaming

The channel's roots lie in the cable franchise Olympia granted to TeleCommunications Inc. in 1985, which required the operator to provide a community channel, facility space and production equipment; the cable system later passed through AT&T Cable to Comcast, today's operator. Viewers watch TCTV on channel 22 of the Comcast and Consolidated cable systems across greater Thurston County, on streaming apps for television sets, and on the organization's YouTube channels.

A 501(c)(3) non-profit, Thurston Community Media funds its studios, classes and channel through memberships, services and donations after losing local government funding in 2023 - keeping community-made television on the air in Washington's capital county, more than forty years after that first study group met.

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