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ISUtv moves to Channel 18

By Katie Brandt
Greenlee Web Team writer

ISUtv, Iowa State’s student-operated cable channel, started airing on Channel 18 Feb. 1.

ISUtv had resided on Channel 20, but Mediacom wanted to make that channel a 24-hour, all-weather service in an effort to offer standardized channels statewide.

Since ISUtv first aired in 1987, it has been broadcasted on six different stations.

The frequent channel changes are problematic for both ISUtv and its viewers. The station has had to spend money on publicizing new channels.

ISUtv General Manager Kim Claussen said the decision to remove the channel number from the station’s logo was made because the station kept having to spend money replacing equipment displaying old logos.

But since ISUtv’s name no longer incorporates a channel number, it’s “confusing for students because they don’t know where ISUtv is,” said Greenlee Professor Tom Beell, who advises the Broadcast Club.

And some viewers believe ISUtv is no longer aired. “People think the station is lost because they put ISUtv on a station where there previously wasn’t anything,” Claussen said. “There are a ton of viewers lost every time we change [channels].”

Mediacom is supplying ISUtv with a one-time $2,500 grant to help defer the cost of the channel change.

The grant requires that ISUtv not use the money to purchase a lot of gear sporting the new channel in case of future channel changes.

ISUtv will spend the money on advertising, promotional materials and equipment, Beell said.

Mediacom is guaranteeing that ISUtv will remain on Channel 18 for at least a year. But after Feb. 1, 2005 Mediacom is free to move ISUtv again, without providing monetary relief.

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Last updated: Feb. 19, 2004
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