Admittedly the brainchild of several Brock students in early 2005, things didn't take shape until the fall, a month prior to Google purchasing YouTube. Looking back, today's BrockTV is a still a product of many passionately driven people.
Staring uphill with respect for 15 years of attempts at a sustaining model of student-run, broadcast television station, the pilot episode of BrockTV laid new ground for what was to be programming seasons to come out of the campus and community culture in St. Catharines, Ontario.
In early 2006, Division 013 of the Brock University's Student Union was officially formed and Season 1 of regular programming began the following fall. Twelve 10 to 20 minute episodes later and it was time to use the summer for the next level.
Online trends dictated a new model for 2007: individual and on-demand segments. Armed with a new URL at www.brocktv.ca , new staff at all levels, BTV continued to up the ante. Season 2 managed to showcase 65 segments, from September to April, before going off air to regroup again in the summer months.
Staff turnover, poor funding, technological hurdles and campus relocations were several of the initial obstacles facing the staff of Season 3 in 2008. The new administration office was graciously afforded out of the Department of Communications, Popular Culture & Film in the form of SBH321, in tandem with the Centre of Digital Humanities providing new video lab space (TH269b) in the wake of the Multimedia Production and Innovation Centre's disband. Finally, separation of administration and production, both in (mostly) 24h locations had been granted out of hard work and dedication; Season 3 was marking itself as a turning point before it began.
Formulas of programming were relatively ironed out into branded segments, on-campus marketing was reaching a new height and office hours could be properly held; all of which was collectively leading up to the spring of 2009's big push for funding.
Holding the BrockTV referendum in late March of 2009 marked the single-most important campaign of Div 013 history. Passionate volunteers worked tirelessly around the clock, campaigning the successes of past 'BTV alumni', sharing current ComScore stats on Online Video, and listening to what the student body really wanted to watch on their network. After some controversy once the polls literally opened, the success of the BrockTV referendum truly allowed the organization to transcend to new heights. 70 segments, new digs, proper funding and various external cooperation helped round out Season 3 on a high note.
The summer of 2009 saw the demand in re-designing operating structure, production processes and procedures as well as the introduction of accurately managed finances and talented human resources. When school returned, as did BrockTV programming with a new dedication to daily content from each of the 5 categories. 4 new HD cams, 3 new edit suites, 17 new student jobs and 77 new segments before classes resumed in 2010. Season 4 exists both in the BTV tradition of volunteering passion and as the beginning of a new era for Canadian student television networks at large.