The Memorial Union commons recently received an upgrade, free of charge.

Televisions sporting Mediacom cable were replaced by three brand new 42-inch Samsung flat-screen LCD TVs continually broadcasting mtvU, a college student-focused branch of the MTV channel.

The televisions, installed Dec. 16 as finals were wrapping up, are part of a deal made between Iowa State and MTV. As a partner campus with mtvU, Iowa State joins other area universities who have already installed similar technology, including the University of Iowa, the University of Nebraska and the University of Missouri.

The deal brokered by George Micalone, director of Student Activities, provides significant benefits to both Iowa State and MTV, he said.

The university did not pay a dime in obtaining or installing the TVs, or in gaining access to the mtvU channel, Micalone said. As part of the deal, MTV paid for the televisions, contracted the labor for installation and paid for the satellite dish installed atop the MU to receive the programming.

Although a spokesperson from MTV was not available for comment by the time of publication, Micalone estimates the entire package provided by MTV had a value of at least $10,000.

However, the deal came with stipulations. MtvU was to be the sole entertainment provider in the venue in which it was installed — in this case the MU food court. MtvU also requires it have exclusive programming rights, meaning no station other than mtvU may be shown on the TVs they install. In fact, if one does try to change the station on the new TVs, the result is static.

ISU students get more out of the deal than just new TVs though.

“There’s lots of great benefits for being a partner campus,” Micalone said.

Among those benefits are exclusive Fulbright Fellowships for students to travel around the world and study and promote the “power of music.” MtvU grants to support student service organizations, and exclusive concerts and mtvU tours.

MTV also allows the station to feature campus-specific advertising. Specifically, 60 seconds per hour, broken into four 15-second intervals, are available for campus organizations to advertise. Also, the station plans its advertising to be positive and promote anti-drug and anti-drinking campaigns.

MtvU also provides special opportunities to students of partner campuses through their programming. Peabody and Emmy winning shows focus on mental health, student debt, as well as other social activism issues. Programs on mtvU are six minutes in length, allowing for patrons to come and go from the cafeteria and still be able to view entire programs.

Another show, “Stand In,” surprises college classes by replacing their professor with celebrity or political figures for the day, according to promotional material provided by MTV. The program has featured such names as Sting, Madonna, Bill Gates and John McCain. Any campus partner is eligible to participate in these programs.

Many students have not yet noticed the new TVs. Micalone attributes the lack of acknowledgment to three main factors.

First, the semester has just begun, and many students have not been in the MU often enough to notice them yet. But Micalone is confident that as the semester wears on students will begin to notice the changes more.

Second, the volume on the televisions is too low to be heard over the din of the cafeteria lunch crowd.

“Our biggest problem with the TVs right now, because they’re restricted to MTV only, they’re locked out,” Micalone said. “It takes someone to physically go out there, unlock the TV, and up [the volume on] the channel.”

This is an issue that MTV is working to solve.

Finally, no large-scale effort to promote the new partnership has been made yet this semester. Although promotional materials were given out at an event in December, the Student Activities Center plans to promote mtvU and its programs with presentations and free giveaways at the next ISU AfterDark on Feb. 4.

Although many students have yet to notice the new flat-screens in the food court, those who have taken notice gave a mixed response.

“I like them,” said Kyle Woolcock, freshman in computer science.

Other students didn’t respond so favorably.

“Why do we have to watch just MTV?” said Mike Burton, junior in accounting. “There are other things we’d rather watch.”

Many other students responded similarly, and several said they would prefer to watch ESPN or a news station.

“We knew that we’d be taking away a TV that people liked to be able to flip, but the truth is that it’s the same two channels [people watch] on there anyway,” Micalone said in response to student’s objections. “It’s about what people are familiar with, so until people are familiar with [mtvU] they’re going to be uncomfortable with it.”

Micalone also pointed out that there are four other places in the MU students can watch regular, Mediacom-provided cable television on TV’s whose channels they can change: the Trophy Tavern, The Underground, the main lounge and the multicultural center.

After Iowa State began talks with mtvU about partnering, decision-makers in the MU had very few objections, Micalone said. No other stations exist currently that offer a partnership similar to what mtvU does.

ISUtv, a campus organization, pitched mtvU to the Inter-Residence Hall Association in the past, who considered it because it would benefit the ISUtv organization. Pete Englin, director of residence, said the Department of Resident was willing to support this proposal, given the constraints and stipulations mtvU gave.

Ultimately, IRHA rejected the proposal.

Englin said the IRHA was opposed to having televisions in the Dining Centers, as it “was a space for conversation and engaging each other, not watching TV.”

It also objected to installation in lobbies or the commons. The primary reason for this rejection, which was also a reason for rejecting them in ISU Dining centers, was the exclusive content stipulation, meaning that the TVs “could not be changed to show a Cyclone basketball game or any other programming without violating the mtvU contract.”

Another proposal was to provide mtvU as a channel on cable in the residence halls, but neither IRHA nor the Department of Residence wanted to pursue this, as it would have required Mediacom support. MtvU was also less that supportive of the idea.

Micalone wanted to emphasize that Iowa State is not in a long-term contract with mtvU. If, when it comes to be time to renew the contract, a large portion of the students are still opposed to it, the MU staff would be open to revisiting the issue.