College music network aims to take over PSU televisions

New plasma screen televisions could soon be broadcasting the college-oriented cable network mtvU at spots all over the Portland State campus.

The network, which recently signed Oregon State University to a three-year contract, would provide student-themed informational programming, music programming and slots for college organizations to run local announcements, said Kate Mahoney, mtvU’s affiliate relations manager. Members of the PSU student government discussed the possibility of sponsoring mtvU’s presence at PSU at a meeting on Friday.

Mahoney said mtvU will pay for the installation of the plasma screen TVs and all of the operating costs to run the nationwide network, which will be paid for through advertising revenue on the station. The only stipulation in the contract that PSU would have to abide by would require that the televisions be turned on and kept at a normal listening volume during all open hours in common areas.

Any televisions installed on campus would not disrupt or interfere with other forms of broadcasting on campus, such as radio stations like KPSU, Mahoney said.

“We don’t want to compete with any campus-produced stuff,” she said.

As an alternative to a campus presence, colleges can add mtvU to their college cable package, Mahoney said.

Ryan Klute, legislative affairs director for the Associated Students of Portland State University, raised concerns over whether it would be a good decision to have student government endorse the network, given PSU students’ historic inclination toward activism.

“I see the value in this,” Klute said. “But I just don’t know if it’s in student government’s purview [to support the network]. I don’t know if it’s appropriate on this campus.”

Other campus organizations could be better suited to give support to a large corporation like mtvU, he said.

OSU Residence Life has partnered with the network for the university’s contract, Mahoney said.

Mahoney said that while she has already encountered negative reactions at Oregon campuses, the positives of the network’s presence outweigh its problems.

“We outweigh ads with general opportunities for students,” she said.

No decisions were made over what, if any, course of action to take with the network. No decision about the network’s presence on campus was made at Friday’s meeting, and no timeline for a decision has been made.