Local TV gets to the POINT

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There's a new local TV channel in town. Allbritton Communications, owner of ABC affiliate WJLA-TV (Channel 7) and the Politico newspaper, has rolled out a digital channel devoted to Washington-area filmmakers, producers, animators, musicians, comics and storytellers.

Local POINT TV, carried on Channel 205 for Comcast cable subscribers and 867 for Verizon FiOS customers, bills itself as a "return to television's creative roots."

The programming on Local POINT TV is filled with video segments, lasting no more than five minutes, featuring local talent.

"It's really dramatically different," creator Paul Sherno told Channel Surfing. "Local TV is essentially about local news and local sports. We'd like to bring star power back to local TV."

Mr. Sherno said the channel is designed to capture the attention of viewers who might not care to invest 30 or 60 minutes watching a newscast or sitcom.

"If you don't like what you see, you can wait five minutes and something else is going to come on," he said.

Segments vary from concerts to personal stories to short films. The channel also features short "news bursts" of local news, weather and entertainment.

Viewers can watch and rate clips that aired on TV on the channel's Web site, www.localpointtv.com.

Or, they can upload their own videos, which Local POINT TV promises to broadcast if it receives enough votes or the management thinks it's good enough.

"We hope it'll be a resource for creative people to rely on," said Mr. Sherno. For example, he said, the site could bring a local band to the attention of a filmmaker who needs music for a project.