Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated and creative group of students from the Kent State University School of Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT), Hudson Community Television (HCTV) programming is now available on mobile devices via a web-based app. Now everyone will be able to enjoy the public access programs, government meetings, and bulletin board offerings of HCTV on their smart devices thanks to the efforts of the app developers from KSU.
The new web-based app will allow full access to streaming and archived programming from all three HCTV channels, similar to what is currently available on laptops and desktop computers. The app offers search capabilities to access HCTV programming on mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets, and other devices.
The HCTV web-based app was proposed by an HCTV Advisory Committee member in November 2019. The member saw a similar app being used by another community TV station and thought it would be a powerful addition to the current access offerings of HCTV. Research revealed the effort could cost up to $40,000 - a foreboding cost for the small HCTV operation that is almost solely funded by cable franchise fees.
HCTV Advisory Committee member Dr. Michael Beam, who is also the Director of EMAT, worked with his KSU students to develop an app for HCTV as part of their capstone course.
The development team included EMAT students Erica Hewitt, Ethan Hancock, Keith Hodar, Elias Shingleton, and Michael Stephens, under the direction and guidance of EMAT Professional-in-Residence Adam Stephens, IdeaBase Director Kristin Dowling, and Dr. Beam. During the development process, several review meetings were held with HCTV staff to discuss changes and additions.
On November 29, 2021, the students visited the HCTV station in the Hudson High School. They shared the completed version of the app, while also receiving an in-depth tour of the operation.
The new HCTV app is now live thanks to the creative work of this wonderful group of college students. Not only is the new app a powerful addition to the Hudson-centered offerings of HCTV, but the efforts of the young experts from Kent resulted in a first-class application at a substantial cost savings.
The City thanks KSU’s School of Media and Emerging Technology for their wonderful efforts in service to the citizens of Hudson.
The web-based application cannot be downloaded through an app store. It was designed in this way to avoid app store fees and hosting charges. The app is available at https://app.hudsoncommunity.tv. For help installing it, you can go to http://app.hudsoncommunity.tv/help.