MTV’s new college channel may not be all grown up, but at least it’s out of high school.

MtvU, the network’s college-aimed offshoot, launched in January with the goal of bringing progressive music and programming to higher education. This channel, already available at hundreds of universities, is attempting to make its debut at Syracuse University.

Over the past 10 years, MTV has been considering the development of such a network, which breaks away from the original channel’s high school-aimed shows, said Stephen Friedman, general manager of mtvU. MtvU’s programs focus on college music, exposing viewers to previously unknown artists months before they break on other channels.

‘If you think about the way you used to think in high school, your entire world view changes in two years,’ Friedman said. ‘You’ve got all these new possibilities.’

Formerly known as College Television Network, the network re-launched in January 2004 under the management of MTV. Over 720 campuses currently feature mtvU in at least one of its formats. The network supplies TV monitors in common public spaces to broadcast mtvU and allows schools to add mtvU to their basic cable packages.

In this case, mtvU supplies its own satellite links or cable boxes, depending on the needs of the school, said Jackie Garfinkle, a sophomore broadcast journalism major.

‘I think it would be great to bring to SU,’ she said. ‘It seems like a very interesting program.’

Garfinkle discovered mtvU while on Spring Break in Cancun, where she tried to get into a club and was assisted by what turned out to be an mtvU VJ. She has since tried bring mtvU to campus, but says she has encountered numerous bureaucratic roadblocks.

‘So many colleges have it,’ she said. ‘I don’t see why Syracuse doesn’t. It doesn’t cost the university anything. Hopefully, if I send enough e-mails and annoy enough of the higher-ups, it’ll happen.’

MtvU would come as an addition to SU’s current student programming. Student-run network HillTV broadcasts over the Internet and on Time Warner Public Access channel 98. HillTV hopes to become a part of the developing Orange Television Network, which would be added to students’ cable, said Joe Iuliano, general manager of HillTV and a sophomore political science major.

Iuliano said that the Orange Television Network plans to launch at the end of the month and that it will act as a third-party campus network to broadcast in residence halls and on South Campus.

The university plans to hire a programming director for the new network and will come to a decision within the next few weeks, said David Rubin, dean of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The network will link with HillTV and hopes to feature the best of its programming, Rubin said.

‘(The programming director) will work with students at different schools and colleges in order to decide what to put on the network,’ Rubin said. ‘We want to make sure there’s a good representation of student work.’

Since the content of mtvU and HillTV doesn’t necessarily overlap, Iuliano doesn’t expect problems with competition between the networks.

‘Not only do we not do music videos, the shows on mtvU are not produced by friends and peers of the viewers,’ Iuliano said. ‘I can think of no effect or influence that the network would have on HillTV. It would just be one more entity on campus, that’s it.’

Friedman said mtvU offers colleges an advertisement every 15 minutes to allow the schools to promote local events and student interests.

The network’s favorite artists receive ‘The Cut,’ mtvU’s stamp of approval. These artists are available for free download at mtvU.com, which Friedman hopes will help create a buzz.

‘This can become the lab to help discover new talent,’ he said.

MtvU’s other music programs include ‘The Dean’s List,’ a more grown-up version of Total Request Live, ‘The Freshmen,’ which showcases new acts, and ‘Backstage Pass,’ which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at favorite bands.

The channel also features periodic news updates from MTV and CBS, as well as short original programming about relevant topics such as internships, law school and traveling abroad. Re-runs of veteran MTV series ‘Daria’ and ‘Celebrity Deathmatch’ are shown during late-night hours. Competitions ranging from the Best College Band Competition to the Best Animation on Campus Contest give viewers the chance to break into the entertainment industry, Friedman said.

‘There are a lot of contests that create opportunities,’ he said. ‘It helps us continue to be relevant.’

MtvU employs two news correspondents and six VJs, including 2003 SU graduate Maria Sansone.

‘I loved Syracuse, and wasn’t quite ready to throw in the towel yet,’ Sansone said. ‘This job is a permanent road trip. It’s like I’m still in college.’

Sansone discovered the position at mtvU through her agent during her senior year. She began working for the station during Spring Break 2003, and was hired full-time after graduation. She recently spent Spring Break 2004 in Cancun, but said that the job didn’t normally entail hanging out on the beach.

‘Being on campuses is where the heart of the channel is,’ she said. ‘It’s so fun. It’s like we’re college kids all over again.’

Published on April 5, 2004 at 12:00 pm