After finalizing the details of an agreement with Residence Life in the late afternoon on Thursday, BTV proudly announces the acquisition of a space in Ziv Commons to use as a semi-permanent studio space for live programming. BTV will be moving in and equipping the space through the end of this year, and into next semester. This is a great time in the history of BTV. With the capability to broadcast and record from a designated studio space, the improvements to BTV that students have seen throughout the year will accelerate at an even greater pace. Its a victory, and a proud moment for BTV.

Since the end of the 2001-2002 school year – with the move into the Shapiro Campus Center – BTV has not had a place to use as a studio, thus preventing the broadcasting live TV shows. Prior to this semester, BTV has only been capable of broadcasting from its current office in the third floor of the Campus Center;

however, with the purchase of a digital editing (and internet steaming) suite, this semester BTV began airing live Judges Basketball games, live campus events and speeches, and recently, live shows, like the BTV original, Sex in the Suburbs. With the acquisition of the Ziv Commons space, BTVs capacity to include new live shows has increased exponentially.

Without a designated space, says Executive Vice President Ari Schnitzer, the moving time, set up time, and take down time for a half hour show can take hours and hours. Now, with access to a semi-permanent space, the time spend moving equipment is drastically cut, and so the time airing live shows will greatly increase.
BTV Programming Vice President Evan List is equally optimistic.

There have been a lot of great ideas for shows that just couldnt happen without a studio space, said List. Now, with the Ziv space, those great ideas can actually become real shows, adding that, Students should be even more excited about BTV than ever. With the capability of having their own live show, everyone should definitely contact BTV and start being on TV.

The acquisition of the studio space coincides with the start of the piloting of the proposed IPTV system. BTV will participate in the IPTV pilot, starting with a sample of its regular programming. BTV will release more information to the press upon the start of the IPTV/BTV pilot period, as well as updates that will be on btv.brandeis.edu.
For more information, please contact Communications Vice President Marian Shpungin (shpungin@brandeis.edu) or BTV President Julia Gordon (jgordon@brandeis.edu).

Nate Westheimer, BTV