Txt me @ the CW 2nite.
Translation, please? Text me at The CW tonight.
Two MSU students are making a splash in the broadcast world as hosts of The CW channel's "Text Me TV" program, which allows viewers to text message the show's hosts live.
Viewers in the Lansing area can see the program nightly from 1:30-6 a.m. and can send messages to the show for 99 cents per text. Viewers pay the fee to their phone service provider, which then pays the television network.
The program is the first of its kind in the United States and has been airing from Lansing's ABC53 station since mid-February, said psychology junior Vanessa Priebe, a host for the show.
"It's an interactive show," she said. "Everything we talk about is from the text messages we get. It's like a forum. It's really cool. We hook people up on dates and give out prizes."
Priebe said the show receives an average of 500 texts per night, and some viewers send up to 140 per week.
To text in to the show, people text a "T", then a space, then their message to the number 55101. Texters receive a nickname when they send in their messages.
Nicole Stavrinos, 25, is a host and producer of the show. She studied broadcast journalism at Fordham University in Manhattan, N.Y., and said "Text Me TV" is perfect for today's society.
"We're in this age when everyone wants something immediate," she said. "The whole thing of texting is it kind of takes away the face-to-face contact. This is the best of both worlds. You're live, interactive and can comment, but it's not like you're calling in with your voice or on the air. You still have that anonymity."
Priebe said the show is new to the United States, but is popular in European countries including Norway.
"It's really popular there, so they decided to bring it to us. They chose Lansing because they wanted a college town."
So, to publicize the show, the hosts acted as dealers at University Activities Board's Dice N' Ice event at Munn Ice Arena and have teamed up with local businesses including Vivid Ink and Atlas Gym, as well as created groups on Facebook.com.
The show is now airing in the Grand Rapids, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo areas.
"We picked up those cities in one month's time," said Meghan Curis, a communication senior and the other MSU host of the show. "We'd love to expand it as far as it can go. We're in talks of moving it to other states."
On the west side of the state, the show airs from 12:30-6 a.m.
"It's just something that's kind of fun to do after you come home from the bars or something," Curis said. "You're flipping through the channels and, instead of watching ab workouts, you can turn this on and be a part of the show. The second they text it in, it'll pop up on live TV."
But the late time slot also poses problems for students involved in the broadcast.
"It's a struggle just to get to 6 in the morning sometimes," Priebe said. "It's fine when people text and you have a good conversation going. (Energy drink) Monster definitely helps. I try to get catnaps whenever I can."
Priebe said she doesn't have class until 2:40 p.m. two days of the week, which allows her to catch up on sleep. Stavrinos said the prospect of taking part in such an innovative program is more than worth the late nights.
"Getting in on the ground floor of something so innovative is never a bad thing," she said. "I hope that, here in Lansing, we can show everybody how successful the show can be and the potential it has to be entertaining and profitable."
