Clive Barnes, who is the chief Dance, Drama and Opera critic for the New York Post once said, "Television is the first truly democratic culture - the first culture available to everybody and entirely governed by what the people want. The most terrifying thing is what people do want."

I think, however, that while most popular programming seems to be controlled by ratings, the "truly democratic culture," there are plenty of programs and stations that are immune to such measures. BYU-TV is one such station. BYU Broadcasting, as stated in its own mission statement, endeavors to "enrich the lives of audiences through the creation and delivery of religious, educational, cultural, news, and sports programs that reflect Brigham Young University's unique standards of excellence;" hardly programming that could withstand any democratic process. While engaging a large audience is important to BYU Broadcasting, it isn't necessarily what drives its content.

One more thought:
BYU has long believed that "The world is our campus." Quoting again from BYU Broadcasting's mission statement, "[BYU Broadcasting] is uniquely qualified to expand the influence of Brigham Young University beyond its campus." Hmmm...

BYU-TV on BYU.TV

So, a friend tells you about this great show that was on last night. Too bad you didn't Tivo it, right? Well, unprecedented by any other broadcasting entity, BYU-TV not only streams it's channel for free, but it records everything over the last two weeks, Tivo style. That's right. By watching BYU-TV online, you can go back in time up to two weeks, and watch anything that has aired.
Missed that classic sports Friday night, the one where Ty Detmer tears apart the vaulted Miami Hurricane defense? No problem. Log in and watch.
Missed that great devotional address that Bonny Parkin gave. No problem. Log in and watch it, pause it, rewind it, re-watch it.
The first time you log into byu.tv, you'll be prompted to install the Move Networks software, which is nothing more than a small plug-in for your browser, and you'll be ready to watch. Give it a second to download the schedule from the last two weeks, and then pick your program.
Click here to get started.
This will be important, as in future posts, I'll link to interesting shows that are airing. And remember, it's not byu.tv.com. It's just byu.tv