National College Television (NCTV) was an advertiser-supported program network that serviced over 300 college and university television stations. Founded in 1981, the network distributed a schedule of specialized programming to college students. At one point, they claimed a student audience of 7,000,000. The network stopped operations in the Spring of 1990. In 1985, they were one of the first in the world to use TV touch-screen interactive displays used by university students, staff, and others.

Programming

*''Audiophilia'' - NCTV's music concert series spotlighted popular artists of the day. *''Adult Cartoons'' — From the archives of the Museum of Cartoon Art, this show featured classic 1920s-1940s cartoons, as well as new animation and international selections. *''Campus America'' - newsmagazine (national, produced out of NCTV offices), with hosts Marilyn Freeman and Batt Johnson Ohio.state.edu
"'Campus America' crew tours LU," Lucadano, Elaine. "The Liberty Champion," p. 2, November 12, 1986. rt *''Healthy State''- studio-based health show (national, produced out of NCTV offices) *''General College'' - college soap opera that began in 1987 as a student production at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. *''Jack Fist, P.I.'' — A comedy film noir detective show set in the 1940s, broadcast in black and white.

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. *''Mad Dog Cartoons'' – a later rebranding of ''Adult Cartoons'', adding live hosting by a hillbilly-style comic and his bulldog. *''New Grooves'' - billed as "the most progressive mix of music videos anywhere" this show was hosted veteran DJ Meg Griffin, and the playlist was based on reported airplay from over 150 college radio stations. *''The

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment wer ...

Show '' - rebroadcasts of the classic 1950s series starring Jones and The

City Slickers ''City Slickers'' is a 1991 American Western comedy film directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby and Jack Palance, with supporting roles by Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater and Noble Willingham, and ...

. *''Talk is Cheap'' - Weekly television interview show hosted by Marilyn Freeman (national, produced out of NCTV offices) *''Uncensored'' - a documentary series exploring issues of the day. *''The

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and c ...

File'' - featured crime stories from the 1950s TV show featuring the newspaper columnist. *''Off The Cuff'' -

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series produced by the

. *'' Null & Void'' - sketch comedy series produced by UUTV at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. *''Good News, Bad News'' - sitcom set in a campus newspaper run by the students. Produced by

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. *''The Roommate Game'' - A tribute to

the Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show. Newly married couples compete against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally created ...

, this

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

produced game show where roommates were asked a set of questions about their off set roommate, who then returned to answer the same questions. Those with the same answers gained points and won prizes. Sandy Silverman was the initial host. The show was criticized for being somewhat risque among some more conservator NCTV member campuses. *''College Dating Club'' - Another game show hosted by Sandy Silverman. Two "babes" would choose from two "Dudes" the remainder of which was the "reject for the day." The show ran only the last season of NCTV in the spring of 1990.

References

* * * * *{{cite news , title=Targeting College Markets , date=October 11, 1987 , publisher=Chicago Tribune Defunct television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 1981 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1990