By Todd Belie
Daily Bruin Contributor
Nearly one dozen televisions and a sound system now cover half
of the Ackerman Union food court.
The College Television Network installed televisions around
Panda Express, Rubios and Tropix on Monday as part of a deal with
the Associated Students of UCLA.
CTN manages the programming which includes edited CNN news
updates, comedy briefs and music videos voted for by students on
the CTN Web site, according to Dennis Elkan, CTN affiliate
relations manager.
University officials said they hope the network will add to the
atmosphere of the food court.
“CTN will bring programming that’s interesting to
students along with energy, information and entertainment,”
said Terence Hsiao, ASUCLA business development director.
Students can watch the network of televisions, but the limited
set up is designed so students are not forced to watch it, Hsiao
said.
Due to popularity of other CTN sites at the John Wooden Center
and Northern Lights, which have been around since 1995, the
university decided to add new networks to Ackerman.
“The previous response from students was favorable,”
Elkan said. “We wanted to expand access in UCLA because of
its high profile status and the fact that it holds the largest
college food court in the nation.”
CTN serves 894 universities throughout the nation and is
generally located in campus fitness centers and food courts,
according to Elkan. CTN is able to provide the television service
free of charge to students by generating income from ad time sold
to businesses.
ASUCLA’s agreement with CTN allows the association to
broadcast four 15-second announcements per hour about upcoming
campus events, according to Elkan.
CTN is also paying ASUCLA an undisclosed annual fee as part of
the agreement to run its system in Ackerman, according to Jerry
Mann, director of Student Support Services and the Student
Union.
“It’s a good trade-off to receive a little bit of
income in return for the opportunity to provide programming
content,” Mann said.
The CTN network differs from the television system located in
the Cooperage food court on the second level of Ackerman.
Cooperage televisions are run through cable and are generally
used for sports programming, soap operas and news.
“The Cooperage is more like our TV viewing room,”
Mann said.
Though Hsiao said it will take some time to properly access
reaction to the new television system, some students have already
formed opinions about it.
“I think it’s a great way to occupy your time while
you’re eating,” said Hadian Hooks, a fourth-year media
and film student.
“By seeing videos or television while you eat, you can get
a sense of what’s going on in the news and such,” Hooks
said.
Other students did not even notice the new televisions.
“I was completely oblivious to them, said Jordan
Silberling, a third-year mechanical engineering student.
“I’m indifferent to them, but it seems they have them
everywhere.”