Villanova Television (VTV) is a Student television station within Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The channel is only available through the on campus cable TV network.
VTV provides coverage of campus events, news, political debates and discussion, short films, and original drama to students and faculty. The station also creates a new orientation video each year, which has become a focal point of annual freshman orientation.
History
In the fall semester of 1999, a group of students met in the commuter lounge of the Connelly Center for the regular meeting of the Villanova TV Production Club, which had officially been in existence for about a year. The club had a small office which housed its mediocre equipment. Programming could be viewed on the closed-circuit university cable system, but there was no means for programming to be played through the transmitter.
New equipment was purchased and the group reorganized to give members more creative freedom. An executive board was elected, and the club's name was officially changed to VTV. In 2000, the name of the station changed to WVTV, although the original logo with VTV remained. That fall, the official name of the station was changed to WVTV.
WVTV expanded in 2002 into a larger studio/editing space. A political debate show,The Villa-No Spin Zone, was introduced and became a staple of WVTV programming. In 2003, the station acquired a new digital editing system and produced its first DVD, an orientation video for freshmen. Other projects were created to take advantage of the modern technology. During the 2004-2005 school year, the station moved twice before taking up its current studio.
2006 brought equipment failures, including old broadcast hardware, which crippled WVTV's ability to generate good programming. The breakdown led to a drop in student participation, and only the most committed members remained by the end of the academic year. Those students became the nucleus of the current executive board, who are working to restore the station to its place as a campus mainstay. New broadcast equipment was installed in September 2007, and in November 2007 the group purchased a new Mac Pro editing suite, complete with Final Cut Studio 2.
A campaign began in 2008 to revive WVTV, and within two weeks of beginning this campaign, membership increased to over twenty people. With a new Executive Board in place, VTV restructured many of the elements of station, creating a more stable and productive organization. Currently, VTV is expanding its programming with a variety of new shows in many genres, including cooking, news talk and opinion, and sci-fi, along with a series of short films.
Programming History
Archived programming
BABEL - An epic serialized story about seven people chosen by God to stop Lucifer and his intended apocalypse. (Series Completed with 16 episodes)(Created by Andrew Simone)
Trapped in the Present - Sam just wanted to retire to a simple life in the 1980's...a wish he never thought would cause him to be hunted through time as a fugitive. When Sam steals a time traveling device to escape the control of the Time Agent Patrol Squadron (TAPS) in the year 2310, he find himself stranded in 2010. There he meets Nicole and Luke, two ordinary students that just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, the three must fight for their lives as they are chased down by time agents from the future as Sam must deal with the harsh reality that he is trapped in the present. (Series incomplete with six episodes)(Created by Mark Ballweg)
eLife. - Two average gamers get sucked into a cursed PS3 and are forced to play through classic video games in real life to escape the program. (Series incomplete with 5 episodes)(Created by Stefan Jonke)
The Weekly Wildcat – an early predecessor to Nova News, featured news and entertainment across a wide spectrum of campus activities and events
Villanova Basketball Highlights
Sheehan Beach – high-drama monthly series starring students (Series completed with 2 episodes)(Created by Christine Mahin)
Dorm Detectives – dating show similar to MTV's Room Raiders; students decide who they would like to go on a date with, purely based on the person's dorm room
Game Time! – sports talk show with recaps of professional and college sporting events of the week, interviews with Villanova athletes and coaches
The Hunt for Hanson – reporters seek out Hanson for an interview
Special Olympics Special – interviews with Special Olympics athletes taped during the event on campus. (Created by Andrew Simone)
HLT Productions – A group dedicated to creating original shorts including The Three,Face Value,and The Interview.
Sportstime (Sports)- Join Mark Versella and company as they give you their opinions and the cold hard facts about what's what in the sports world. (Created by Miggy Gutierrez, Mark Versella, and Anthony Cetta)
The Dark World (Reality)- Villanova's answer to Ghost Hunters goes off campus to hunt down the paranormal and determine if there is anything after death. (Created by Mike Goode and Andrew Simone)
Ginger Hunting - Gingers...red heads...are a disease. This is a full guide on what to do if you ever find yourself face to face with a ginger. (Created by Jimi Honochick)
Current programming
Current Shows
Nova News (News)- Villanova's only news program brings you campus events, clubs, sports and people, interesting off-campus places, and local features
VTV Lazy Dayz (Short Comedy)- A series of random shorts about the VTV Executive Board and the misadventures that happen behind the scenes.
Villanova Happy Tapes (comedy)- Louis Riccardi brings you a series of PSA parodies about ridiculous things that you should know about on Villanova's campus.