THE Northern Caribbean University has launched its own cable television station, in collaboration with Wilson's Cable of Mandeville.

The station, NCU TV, is on Channel 40 of Wilson's programming schedule and carries 24-hour programming, "highlighting events and happenings on the campus and highlights of events in and around Mandeville," said NCU.

The broadcasts now are mainly of major functions held on the campus, parish meetings and features, but will incorporate, in time, news and documentaries, according to Everett Wiles, chair of the Department of Communication Studies at NCU.

Its primary purpose is for hands-on training of communication students, including production and broadcasting.

"The students will be expected to come up with proposals, to get on the air and read news and present and introduce programmes," said Wiles. He is also hoping the station will boost interest in the campus and become a magnet for student recruits.

Wilson's has offered the channel free of cost, but the university has to produce its own content.

Programmes are packaged at NCU and sent to the station for broadcast, but Wiles said there are plans to bring in fibre optic equipment to stream the programmes directly from the campus to Wilson's Cable.

NCU has no plans to solicit advertisements, but says offers to sponsor programmes would not be refused.
"We can have dialogue on that because we definitely will accept sponsorship," said Wiles.

The station has been operational since mid-June.
NCU also operates a community radio station, WIC Radio, which transmits as far as Clarendon, a neighbouring parish, and can be heard on 88.3 FM. There are plans, said NCU, to take the station national.

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