Buckle up, Billikens: SLU TV will soon merge with the Billiken Blockbuster Cinema to form the premier 24-hour, nonstop action network on Saint Louis University's campus.
According to SLU TV President and General Manager Christine Campbell, a change in format was long overdue.
"In order to provide incentive for our staff to put in the countless hours that go into producing an original show, we needed to find a way for our shows to be seen by a wider audience. Because channel 22 is 'TV,' it seemed natural that SLU TV would consist of movies and student shows," Campbell said.
Until then, SLU Radio and SLU TV will continue to share air time on channel 18. SLU TV became a chartered student organization in the fall of 2003, while SLU's very own BBC has been a mainstay since its inception in 1999.
Students who are surfing over to Channel 22 hoping to catch a glimpse of Eric Immel's new dance moves, simply described as "more interpretive," should exercise patience.
"We are slowly integrating," Campbell said. "Nick McLeod and Nate Howard of RHA have been awesome to work with. Hopefully, we will be able to take the burden off them by making commercials and programming the movie schedule."
RHA has been the sole financier of BBC operations and programming. Campbell hopes that the staff of SLU TV will provide some assistance to what she describes as a "huge burden" for RHA.
Campbell assures that the merger will not cause an uneven flow of original programming and movies.
"The BBC will show the same amount of movies. We will simply fill the dead air time between movies with student-produced and directed programming and video commercials," she said. "Channel 18 will eventually become entirely radio while channel 22 will be all video, a combination of movies and SLU TV."
This means fewer Power Point slides from last November, more spots for Salon Ktizo and, of course, more of the "Eric Immel Dance Hour."
Campbell encourages students who are interested in joining the SLU TV team to contact her through e-mail, at [email protected].
"We need a lot of help and have many open positions," she said. "Students can begin their own show or work on an existing one."
Campbell added that the "Eric Immel Dance Magnifique: The Rise and Fall of The Dance Dictator (A Tragedy in Five Acts)" series will air at various times next week.
