The New England Patriots may win the Super Bowl, the Celtics and the Bruins may advance through the playoffs, and the Red Sox may defeat the Evil Empire Yankees, but Tufts students will still be without ESPN in their dorm rooms next year.
The four ESPN sports channels, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic and ESPNEWS, as part of an overall programming package, would double the cost of Tufts cable programming package to $100,000 per year, according to Tufts Computing and Communications Services (TCCS). Currently TCCS pays $50,000 for the cable service.
For TCCS, the department in charge of cable TV, the cost of adding ESPN is too great. Marj Minnigh, the administrator coordinating cable TV issues at TCCS, was surprised at the cost of adding ESPN. "We went over that three or four times with the vendor [and we said] 'that can't be right,'" Minnigh said. "$50,000 is more than [Tufts students] spend on the Spring Fling. ESPN would probably be the single largest fundraising interest and when you look at it that way you have to think of the relative value."
TCCS made a number of attempts last fall to make sports television available short of paying an extra $50,000. For instance, it added NESN, the New England Sports Network, to the cable TV line-up. With NESN, students are able to watch every Red Sox baseball game. ESPNEWS is also rebroadcast through NESN.
Currently students living in dorms do not pay an extra fee for cable TV, nor is it part of student' overall room rate. The money to pay for cable TV comes from a general Arts and Sciences fund.
Other universities that offer ESPN afford it by charging every student and additional fee or increased room rate. Because not every student benefits from the addition of ESPN, TCCS believes that the added cost is unfair.
Minnigh said that two years ago when cable TV with ESPN was offered, students had to pay for the service. "When we sold traditional cable, the [largest percentage] of rooms we had subscribing was 35 percent, and that was the best year."
For students who want ESPN, there might still be hope. TCCS is willing to work on a year-by-year basis with students willing to raise the money but unsure about committing to an annual fundraiser.
TCCS has said that they are willing to work with whomever is willing to raise the extra money. As Minnigh says, "If somebody gave [TCCS] a $50,000 check, I'd order ESPN that day."
In addition, ESPN does not offer any of their sports channels as an a la carte premium service. This is a long standing policy of ESPN's, despite the lobbying efforts of both Tufts and the cable vendor for change. ESPN, unlike other channels such as HBO and Showtime, is not available independently at an added cost.
A large percentage of students would like to have ESPN. Freshman Keith Collins said, "I need ESPN. If not for my own sake, then for the sake of those around me. You don't want to see me if I haven't gotten my fix of ESPN that day."
Despite the lack of ESPN, TCCS has made changes to improve the selection of channels for next year. They plan to add three to five foreign language channels available not just in dorms, but in Olin classrooms as well. By doing this, TCCS hopes to increase the variety of programming and languages offered to enhance the classroom experience.
TCCS is also responding to a request made by students to offer MTV-U, an MTV channel with a direct focus on college students. So far it is unclear whether MTV-U will be available next year.
