The
Michigan Cable Telecommunications Association commissioned from Public Sector Consultants a study on the feasibility of a state C-SPAN styled cable channel in 1993. The
Michigan Public Service Commission and
Ameritech settled an overcharging lawsuit. Governor
John Engler already had his plan for such a network in motion by earmarking the overcharged settlement funds for the project. A master control room was designed and placed in the Romney office building with additional control rooms and cameras for the two capitol chambers. The cable association assisted with professional advice. By March 1994, the Michigan House Oversight and Ethics Committee was holding meetings over the
Michigan Public Service Commission plans to use $2 million in overcharged fees for the Michigan Government Television project and on February 28, 1994, Lark Samouelian started work as the appointed MGTV project manager. Engler had original plan to run the channel as a part of the executive branch, but was getting resistance. For the first year, the channel was only available three Lansing area cable providers, TCI, Media One and Horizon. Satellite uplink was provisioned from
Videocom after considering Michigan Information Technology Network's Ku band uplink, which had
rain fade. The uplink allowed the channel to go statewide. Live coverage of the Senate began in late 1997 followed soon by the House of Representatives. In mid-January 2013 MGTV discontinued operations claiming lack of interest and clearance issues with providers. The non-profit turned over equipment to the
Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which would use the equipment to launch on the internet as MiTV January 1, 2013, and had no cable system restrictions on availability. ==Production==