In the coming days, the AU Journalism and Digital Media Department will be embarking on some of their biggest projects to date.

Armstrong Cable channel 2, which is known as TV2, will not only be transitioning from the TV2 name while adopting the new name of AUTV, but it will also be moving from channel 2 to channel 20.

This move to channel 20 will make AUTV the sole local originator of programming for the channel.

This transition from TV2 to AUTV has not been an easy one. According to Tim McCarty, interim chair of the journalism and digital media department and AUTV adviser, some concessions had to be made on both sides.

“They [Armstrong Cable] wanted someone who could provide 20 hours of content including re-airings,” McCarty said, “but we had to make it clear to them that we work on an academic schedule and we aren’t here 3 months out of the year, so we can’t exactly be a 24/7 operation.”

According to McCarty, this transition was a product of all the “planets aligning.”

The journalism department just re-launched as the journalism and digital media department, Armstrong hired a new manager in town and Armstrong wanting to strengthen their relationship with AU.

With the new JDM program at AU, McCarty feels that the department is better equipped to produce more content for AUTV.

The content for AUTV will come from the Triple A: academics, arts and athletics.

This could include sporting events, shows like the recently taped Sport Scandal Forum and as sports and news updates that are already a part of the normal rotation for AU programming.

According to McCarty, there will be a lot of opportunities for AUTV to showcase student work.

“We have some filmmakers working on shows, the sports people are working, the news people are working,” McCarty said. “There is lots and lots of content in the works.”

Along with the programming produced by the JDM department, the new station will have a community message board system that advertises things going on in the Ashland community and at AU such as sport schedules, movie listings and other announcements, like dates and times for events of non-profit organizations.

There is no concrete date as to when AUTV will launch but McCarty advises all students to be on the lookout in the coming weeks.

“We are finalizing our connectivity and once we are fully connected with Armstrong on channel 20, we will start our public relations and promotion of the new channel,” McCarty said.