Guinness World Records Submission #3
First Internet TV Show
Evidence Overview
THE HOMETOWN began as a public-access cable television program in Carrollton, Texas, produced by Michael Lee Goetz, Sr. in 1992.
In the mid-1990s, Goetz produced an investigative report about problems with local public-access television operations. After the report aired, THE HOMETOWN was removed from the cable schedule, leading to a censorship dispute involving local public-access television policies. A Dallas–Fort Worth NBC-5 news story documented that dispute.
During that period, Goetz began shifting THE HOMETOWN toward internet distribution. He taught himself how to build and configure personal computers and pioneered early internet media delivery, creating web pages and streaming experiments designed to function over dial-up telephone lines.
By 1997, THE HOMETOWN was being presented as an internet TV show distributed through You-On-Tv.com, using the consumer tools and streaming formats available at the time (including RealMedia).
This submission organizes the supporting material documenting the transition of THE HOMETOWN from cable television to internet distribution.
Evidence Items
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“Introducing THE HOMETOWN Online” — 1997 Video — View Evidence
Archival video from April 1997 showing Michael Lee Goetz, Sr. at his computer introducing THE HOMETOWN online. -
NBC-5 News Report on THE HOMETOWN Censorship (mid-1990s) — View Evidence
Dallas–Fort Worth NBC affiliate news story covering the censorship dispute and documenting the circumstances that contributed to the show’s shift toward the internet. -
Crossover Show Promo — View Evidence
Promotional spot for THE HOMETOWN that advertises “LIVE WEBCAST” and “ONLINE STREAMING VIDEO,” illustrating how the program was promoted during the cable-to-internet transition period. -
1992 Cable Public-Access Promo — THE HOMETOWN on Channel 15 — View Evidence
Still frame from an early public-access promo in Carrollton, Texas, showing THE HOMETOWN as a weekly community program on Channel 15, documenting the show’s origin on cable prior to the online transition.
