Portsmouth has officially launched its new community access television station at Comcast Channel 98. For now, the station simply features a slideshow of photos from around the city and a promotional video. But, come December, Portsmouth Public Media plans to offer unique, original programming.

Planning for the station began in the spring of 2010. Since then, the non-profit Portsmouth Public Media crew has set up its headquarters at the South Meeting House on Marcy Street, former location of the New Hampshire Children’s Museum. PPM President Dave Underhill said renovations to the first floor of the building are nearly complete, with a master control room, editing room, meeting room and studio. Eventually, he said, the entire second floor will be a large studio.

Now that the construction is mostly finished, Underhill said, the PPM team can begin focusing on the programs it will offer.

“Now we’re entering a new phase, which is to find resources in the community who are eager to tell their stories,” he said.

PPM is currently conducting engineering tests on the station and at www.portsmouthpublicmedia.com. They hope to launch some limited programming soon, with a full schedule following at an undetermined date.

“We’re going to shoot for program testing in December and set a target not long after that, I would be quite confident,” Underhill said.

The station will feature a wide range of programming, including work from local filmmakers and television producers, as well as shows hosted by community members who are new to the TV business.

“The nature of the channel is community access, so it’s really member driven,” Underhill said. “We expect to have a really diverse set of programs.”

He noted that PPM recently hosted a programming workshop that drew 15 new faces—an indication that interest in the station is rapidly increasing. “I expect we’re going to grow by multiples now,” he said.

PPM’s all-volunteer board of directors includes Underhill, Chase Bailey, Alissa Bourneval, George Chianis, Dan Freund, Glenn Gardner, Susan Gold, Chris Ostrom, Sharon Cuddy Somers, Jack Thorsen and Beth Wheland.

According to their Web site, the station will showcase the talent of the region’s writers, artists, entertainers, chefs, athletes and political leaders. PPM is still in the process of fundraising, testing and completing renovations, but they expect to have a firm idea of when the station’s full slate of programming will be available in the near future.