Students at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program Produce Live Interactive TV Show

Shawn Van Every, a lecturer at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program, contacted [itvt] Tuesday to let us know about "UnItv," a live interactive TV show that has been produced by his students as the final project for his class on "Live Experimental Interactive Television."

"'UnItv' is an exciting new venture in live television," Van Every told us by email. "Performed as a local news broadcast, the 'news team' is given real-time user-submitted content (images, questions, lyrics, and YouTube videos) on which they improv the news, weather, a celebrity interview and a performance with a special musical guest. The home television audience is provided with a two-screen set-up where they use our Web site to become part of the show [note: viewers upload content via forms on the site's "Submit Now" page]. In the spirit of true improvisation, our cast is dependent upon user suggestions to make up the show as they string one joke along to the next." Viewers of the show submit content via a special section of the show's Web site.

According to Van Every, "UnItv" was developed in collaboration with Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN). It aired Tuesday night on MNN's channel, which is available in Manhattan on Time Warner Cable, RCN and Verizon FiOS TV; and it also aired on Ustream.