WSU adds 24-Hour TV Programing to Campus

OGDEN, Utah – Weber State University’s digital media program has launched WildcatONE-TV, as a way to showcase students’ creative video projects and to provide 24-7 TV programing to the campus.

WildcatONE offers free Internet television in public areas such as the Shepherd Union Building and residence halls and to WSU faculty, staff and students who can log in to the system on personal computers and tablets. The content includes free block-buster movies as well as the video projects produced by Studio76, Weber State’s student video production group.

Although electronic media students always have produced a plethora of entertainment and news programs, they never have had a dedicated TV channel to showcase their work. They hope the new channel, with its hit movies, will attract viewers who then will stay-tuned to watch the many student-produced segments.

Studio 76 is a co-curricular activity of the Department of Communication, which is part of the Telitha A. Lindquist College of Arts & Humanities. Its programs include morning shows that highlight the day’s campus events, bi-weekly sports shows, comedy sketches and late-night shows. More than 30 students produce the TV content, often working in conjunction with WSU’s student newspaper, The Signpost, and with Weber FM, Weber State’s student-run radio station.

 “Studio 76 always has been a great place to show off our talent, but it doesn’t really have a large audience,” said Studio 76 faculty adviser Drew Tyler. “Putting movies on the TV station and playing them nightly will draw our audience into the other content we are creating in the studio. It’s also a way for us to earn revenue through advertisements.”

The new WildcatONE software allows Studio 76 to provide content on a constant stream, where anyone on campus can log into the closed IPTV circuit system and access the films and Studio 76 productions.

“The process is still the same for us, but there’s just a lot more content now,” Tyler said. “Students benefit because they get to take a “sandbox-in-a-playground approach,” by creating something and immediately seeing the product on a real TV channel as well as on YouTube.”
WSU student and Studio 76 executive producer Danny Rubio said it’s the hands-on experience that helps him be adaptive and provides a diverse skillset for a job after graduation.

“The best part is we have so much programming now, students have the flexibility to try different things,” Rubio said. “It’s such an open environment where we get immersed in a variety of different jobs, from writing, shooting to being on camera. We also have enough people and programming space, so students also specialize on one particular show.”

Studio 76 is in the process of building a portable, multi-camera, live-stream system, which will allow live broadcasts of campus events on WildcatONE, so the entire WSU community can view them no matter where they are on campus.

“Before, we always had to gut our studio of equipment and relocate it all for the day when providing live coverage,” Tyler said. “Soon we will have great mobility. We’ll Tweet teases such as ‘Hey, this event is going on in the Union Building at this time. Watch it here.’”

For more information about Studio 76 and/or access to WildcatONE, visit wsustudio76.com. To see recordings of past programming, check out its YouTube channel here. Visit weber.edu/cah for more about the College of Arts & Humanities.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

For high-resolution photos, please visit the following links:

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Author:
Matthew Gerrish, Marketing & Communications
801-626-7581 • matthewgerrish@weber.edu
Contact:
Drew Tyler, instructor, Communications and Digital Media
801-529-8479 • drewtyler@weber.edu