Seeking to improve the content on DarTV's Channel 13 which currently only displays "No Program Scheduled" a group of students is working to revive Dartmouth Television, a student-run, closed-circuit campus television network that has been defunct since 2007.
Sam Peck '10, Ethan Lubka '10, Mike DiBenedetto '10 and Jared Zelski '10 became interested in resurrecting the channel after brainstorming alternative uses for the television screens installed last fall in Food Court, Peck said.
Originally founded in 1991, DTV was discontinued after one year due to a lack of audience and poor management, The Dartmouth previously reported
The channel later made a return in 1999, broadcasting digital content using a specialized computer program. After the students trained to use the program graduated, the channel began using VHS tapes to broadcast content, Peck said.
DTV's organizers later began the process of converting content from VHS tapes to a digital format. That enterprise was financed in part by Programming Board, Peck said, which ultimately decided that it could not justify the cost given the channel's low viewership, and withdrew funding.
Once these student leaders too graduated, the remaining "interested parties thought it too difficult to keep up with the technological problems," Peck said, and abandoned the channel.
"Every organization must renew their standing each year," Liz Agosto, associate director of the Collis Center and Student Activities, said of the previous DTV group. "They did not renew their membership, and they weren't doing programming that is what happened on the [Council on Student Oganizations] side."
Peck said that the DTV interest group realizes that technological challenge are still a reality.
"We believe that we have the energy and dedication necessary to revive the station," he said, adding that much of the process of digital conversion was several years ago.
Working in conjunction with Director of Network Services Frank Archambeault, Peck, Lubka, Dibenedetto and Zelski have outlined a four-phase process to transition DTV into a fully functioning student network.
By the end of Spring term, Peck said the group intends to ask campus organizations to pledge to provide content for programming, which will constitute phase one of this process.
Once the organizers can provide a legitimate plan for programming, they will be able to apply for recognition from COSO and enlist the help of Network Services to set up the necessary infrastructure, Peck said.
In phase two, the group intends to collect content from campus organizations and test its equipment. The channel will begin to provide content only in prime time hours, Peck said.
Phase three is intended to develop a sustainable model for the network, including developing plans to fill every hour of available broadcast, to expand original programming options, and to explore the possibility of selling commercial time, Peck said.
As a COSO organization, Agosto said, DTV would not be allowed to solicit donations from parents or alumni. The group would be allowed to sell advertisements to local businesses, but could not sell advertisements to national companies without receiving the approval of the College's lawyers, she said.
Members of COSO organizations are also prohibited from signing contracts, according to COSO's web site.
From 1999 to 2007, the network aired advertisements on a televised community bulletin board during off-prime hours. Campus organizations additionally paid DTV to televise events, The Dartmouth previously reported.
"In phase four, a long ways down the line, we hope to have live programming possible and set up an awards ceremony [to recognize student programming]," Peck said.
Peck said that DTV will have minimal startup costs, as most of the equipment from the channel's previous incarnations is still in the old DTV office in Robinson Hall.
In an exploratory meeting open to the student body last Thursday, the group leaders collected the names of 20 interested students and fielded suggestions for programming. Suggestions included taped broadcasts of campus events like lectures or student performances, original scripted programming in half-hour and hour blocks, student-produced films and an original news segment possibly produced in collaboration with print media organizations on campus.
"Among the students who came to the meeting, many have a lot of experience in programming, and I trust will bring all of their talent to the table," Peck said. "Some of the kids represented campus groups and spoke to their potential involvement, but we will find out just how much help we can find in the next couple of weeks as we strive to seek out creative groups on campus."
