RTV rebrands, becomes Rice Video Productions

By Charlie Paul     9/29/15 4:32am

Rice Television is currently in the process of rebranding to Rice Video Productions, according to promotional materials put out by the organization.

This is not the first time that the organization has changed its moniker. Until 2002, RTV was known as Rice Broadcast Television. Though the rebranding has precedent, it has not yet confirmed that the rebranding will occur. The rebranding must be approved by the Student Association in order for the change to be official, although the organization has gone through the process of changing its public image. According to SA Treasurer Sai Chilakapati, the rebranding has not yet been approved by the Senate.

According to Patrick Huang, current station manager of RVP, the updated name is meant to better represent what the organization does.

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“It better encompasses what we do as an organization: produce a variety of different student video productions ranging from creative short films to documentary-style interviews and coverage of events run by other student organizations,” Huang, a Baker College senior, said.

“With the ever ­increasing popularity of YouTube and online streaming services, the word ‘television’ has become outdated. We have been working on transitioning from being a solely television-based station to one that encompasses all kinds of video productions and maintains an online presence, and we wanted our name to reflect this transition.”

According to Jeremy Kao, the RVP programming director, this shift will not come with a radical change in the services provided by RTV, as the organization has had an online presence through both its website and Facebook page.

“The name change does not change our purpose or goals as an organization, and it will not affect our viewers,” Kao, a Hanszen College junior, said.

The organization’s goal of creating a more modern public image and better connect with new students appears to be working so far, as Kao said RVP had noticed a marked increase in student interest during its fall recruiting sessions.

This rebranding comes on the heels of a new blanket tax allocation method approved last spring. The new blanket tax allows for SA subsidiaries to better obtain an appropriate budget each year, instead of being locked in for multiple years at a time. The new name may lead to complications under this method, as RVP’s budget approved last spring was very similar to that of years’ past.

“I cannot comment with certainty that there will be financial changes after rebranding,” Chilakapati said. “It will also be made note of so that the future treasurer, during the blanket tax process, does not mistake a change in budget as improper spending.”

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