SUNY Cortland’s CSTV Hits Channel 20

05/09/2018 

After two years of tireless, collaborative efforts, the Cortland State Television (CSTV) club has acquired access to broadcast the station’s programs via Channel 20 on SUNY Cortland’s closed network.

The televised broadcasts will begin in the fall of 2018.

The campaign to reach a broader student audience by returning to a broadcast network after a long hiatus was led by CSTV president Alyssa Marley and supported by the campus community. CSTV programming was only accessible through the club’s YouTube channel in in recent years.

Marley, a senior communication studies major from Newburgh, N.Y., began work on this project during her junior year at SUNY Cortland. The idea to expand the club’s broadcasting reach on campus had been brought up in 2014 but never came to fruition.

In 2016, with help from the club’s advisor Sam Avery, assistant professor of communication studies, members of the CSTV club first approached Communication Studies Department Chair Paul van der Veur. However, at the time, van der Veur was not sure the club would be able to handle the rigorous demands of running a television station.

“It was discouraging at first, but I knew this was something that would make SUNY Cortland more appealing to prospective communications students,” Marley said.

The club needed to gather estimates on a controller, the electronic device that would be able to manage the channel programs and commercials, and also had to figure out the technical aspects of expanding to television broadcast. Members of CSTV consulted Brad Snyder, associate director of campus technology services, Ricardo Nelson, technical services associate for classroom technology services and James Forshee, professor of sport management.

The controller serves as a hub housing all of the club’s videos, allowing CSTV to upload and schedule content to a server, which connects directly to channel 20 on the campus’ closed network. Last summer, CSTV purchased the UltraNexusHD controller in order to upload a playlist of content produced by club members.

Marley and CSTV members worked hard during the spring semester to create content and upload it to the server to be broadcast this fall. Content will consist of news, sports and CSTV shows as well as archival SUNY Cortland athletic events and films previously screened at the Blackbird Film Festival. More content will be developed in upcoming semesters to create a ‘twenty-four, seven’ broadcasting cycle.

“I’m very pleased with how CSTV has come together, and I am optimistic for the future of the club,” Marley said.

Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Hannah Bistocchi