With new website, shows, CTV reaches out to CU

It’s no secret that CTV (Columbia University Television) isn’t exactly popular viewing material for Columbia students. But that’s something the network is looking to change this year by offering more options for the casual viewer, both in what they watch and how they can watch the campus TV station’s programs.

Co-president Janelle Mills, SEAS ’12, admits that “CTV as a channel isn’t accessible.” To explain CTV’s solution, Mills said, “One of the tools that we’re utilizing more is online streaming—basically trying to move more of our content online so it’s more accessible to other universities and just the general public.”

Online content is often a better option for busy college students who don’t have a TV readily available. “Everyone has a different schedule. Everyone can’t watch TV traditionally anymore so whenever they can—if they want to catch short clips of videos or entire videos—they can just go to our website,” co-president Gabriel Ho, SEAS ‘12, said. “It’s a lot more accessible.”

But students who are partial to the small screen over the computer screen are in luck, because, as Mills said, “We’re also in the process of trying to improve our broadcasting quality on television.”

With an assortment of new pilots in addition to the improved website, CTV is hoping to attract a broader fan base. “We have a really diverse group of shows this semester,” CTV Assistant Vice President Victoria Fox, CC ’12, said.

Shows new to CTV include “GreenBorough,” which follows a house of 13 Columbia students seeking to live as environmentally consciously as possible, and “Mouth,” a show all about—you guessed it—the human mouth. Fox describes it as a “surrealist, German expressionist” program (take that as you will). The new lineup also includes “Failed Flirtations” and “Guerilla Show,” along with continuing shows “Sofa” and “CTV News.”

Regardless of how many viewers the station has, Mill and Ho are optimistic about CTV’s on-campus role. “We think our role is highlighting art projects that don’t really have a stage anywhere else,” Mill said.
“We’re a television network,” Ho said, “and we have a film studies program at Columbia but it doesn’t have that many courses on television, so people that want to create content with longer storylines and want to explore this medium, our club offers that opportunity.”

Check out episodes of this season’s CTV shows at cutelevision.org.