With UW-Madison's cable TV system on slate for an eventual upgrade, a myriad of programs exist to enhance broadcast options for the campus.
Dave Devereaux-Weber, a network engineer at Division of Information Technology, said a plan is being discussed to create a new network for the school's Internet and cable TV programming.
Currently, DoIT maintains two networks: the Academic Television Network and the Residential Television Network. The RTN, Devereaux-Weber said, provides university housing with Charter Cable's expanded basic service, while the ATN, which carries academic feeds such a Russian-language channel and a satellite weather forecast, is in terrible disarray.
\That network is at the end of its life, and we're not going to continue to maintain it if it breaks,"" Devereaux-Weber said. ""In fact, in some places. it stopped working, and we're not going to fix it.""
Correspondingly, a new high-speed network is being considered to carry the university's Internet and cable TV services, a network which could allow for an expansion in TV options and bring new channels to university TV, Devereaux-Weber said.
""Because we're in the process of planning a new data network that will be capable of carrying the video in digital form, we would like to pursue that,"" he said.
Director of Housing Paul Evans also said he would be interested in an expansion of campus TV.
""If I were to describe an ideal network, I would say a movie channel would be nice,"" he said. ""Some international channels would be good to be able to offer because right now it's just real limited in that area.""
Recently, a number of cable networks aimed exclusively for the college demographic have been created to run on university cable systems, though Evans said he is unfamiliar with such networks.
MTV, for example, is considering creating a cable network dedicated to college students, MTVU, which would run exclusively through university feeds.
MTV representatives were unavailable for comment as of press time, but one similar network aimed at university students already exists in the Madison area.
Zilo Networks, Inc., a company with more than 5 million viewers at more than 217 college campuses nationwide, provides free programming for stations aimed at students, said Monica Jara, Zilo's director of communications.
Zilo provides three hours of programming per week to WYOU, a public broadcast station on channel 4, but its long-term goals are greater.
""We hope to be on every single college campus across America,"" Jara said.
