Troy University officials are looking into alternatives to the basic cable television package currently in most on-campus residences, according to Dean of Student Services Herbert Reeves.
The University has not released an official statement as of yet, but speculation of its removal was addressed at the Residence Hall Association meeting on Wednesday by LuAnn Knight Crenshaw, coordinator of residence life.
“Our goal is not to leave students without television-style entertainment,” Crenshaw said.
Since the plan is not official, she said there are only suggestions as to what might occur once the current contract with Troy Cable expires sometime in October. However, she stressed nothing is set in stone.
Whatever happens, the two new residence halls, 1000 and 2000, and married student housing will not be affected.
She pointed out it is likely that the University will decide not to renew the contract and make the “logical jump” of purchasing more internet bandwidth instead.
If the University does not renew the cable contract, this will allow students to utilize live-streaming content — Netflix, Hulu, Roku and Amazon Prime — that students already use anyway, Crenshaw said.
Roku is a device that gives users access to over 500,000 movies and TV episodes from top free and paid channels so almost anything can be streamed, according to its website.
Crenshaw also mentioned that the University might utilize an app that students can use to view the same content they could watch on basic television or to purchase additional channels. The service, she said, will likely be provided as part of housing costs.
According to Troy University’s records, in 2016, Troy University paid $244,000 to Troy Cable. Of that, $190,000 was paid to provide cable in residence halls.
Crenshaw said the new system is a more cost-effective option for the University.
“You don’t care what’s on ABC at 6:30; you want to watch ‘The Office’ anytime you want to watch ‘The Office,’” Crenshaw said, who estimated that 90 percent of students on campus watch shows and movies on computer screens versus the television.
She also cited a decrease in the number of students who were bringing TVs at all to their on-campus housing.
Josh Whitehorn, a junior hospitality sport and tourism management major from Texarkana, Texas, and resident in Trojan Village 400, came to the meeting because he was concerned about losing live-streaming sports channels.
“What she said sounds a lot better than I was expecting,” Whitehorn said after sitting through the open forum and engaging Crenshaw with questions about possible cable replacements and suggested HBO Go, which is an app with live-streaming options.
Whitehorn’s concern now is that he does not want to compete with people watching Netflix while he’s doing his homework online, even with the increased bandwidth that will allow faster internet speeds.
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