Students living in campus housing now have the option of ordering premium cable channels through UNITS.
During autumn quarter, students received standard cable with ten free premium channels. Upon their return to campus for winter quarter, the free trial had ended. To continue receiving the channels, students now must order packages through UNITS.
The ten premium channels available are HBO, HBO2, HBO Signature, Cinemax, Showtime, Showtime Too, Showtime Beyond, The Movie Channel, Encore and Starz!.
Jamie Lambert, outside plant manager of UNITS, said those premium channels were chosen based on past customer feedback and surveys.
To obtain premium service, students must go through UNITS and obtain a cable box. There is no charge for equipment, Lambert said.
She said that UNITS is offering free installation through Jan. 31. Orders placed after that date will include a $10 fee.
Rates for the packages were decided based on market rates in the Columbus metropolitan area, Lambert said.
Pricing of packages varies, ranging from $40 per month for all ten premium channels, to $8.95 a month for only Cinemax or the Encore and Starz! package.
The HBO package includes three HBO channels and costs $14.95 per month. The Showtime package offers three forms of Showtime and The Movie Channel for $11.95 a month.
Other Ohio colleges also offer students premium channels, while options and prices vary by school. Several schools said student interest was low, citing each school’s own movie channel as the reason.
At Bowling Green, HBO and Cinemax are part of general cable service offered to students, said Nick Hennesy, associate director of resident life. He said students have the option of ordering other premium channels, but most do not. He also said the student government offers a channel that shows recent movies.
“That satisfies the bulk of students,” Hennesy said. “There are so many things on the channel. There are also videos and DVDs available at the front desk.”
At Kent State, students can get the three HBOs for one price, said Peter Horwitz, senior LAN administrator. He said there is an additional cost for Showtime and any other channels after that, though many students do not take advantage of what is offered.
“Though numbers are up from last year, interest in the extra channels has been low,” Horwitz said. “Part of the reason is because we have our own premium movie channel.”
Ohio University offers HBO as part of its basic service to all students for no extra fee. Brian Thompson, operations manager of administrative services, said OU also has its own movie channel that runs 20 new movies per month.
“All students receive the same bulk service within their residential room,” Thompson said. “Bulk service (is) billed as part of general room charge. No additional fees apply.”
OSU also has its own movie channel that shows recently released movies, but UNITS is not concerned about competing with the OSU movie channel, said Lambert, because most students want the premium channels for original programming, such as “The Sopranos.”
Lambert said UNITS will not know until next autumn how students really feel about the new service, but things are going well so far.
“Many orders are coming in,” Lambert said. “The entire campus enjoyed the quarter of free service.”
She said UNITS hopes to announce more services soon, including digital cable and pay per view.
“(We) want to offer service comparable to when people move off campus,” Lambert said.
