PROVO — Don't be surprised if you flip over to channel 374 on DIRECTV and find Brigham Young University's choir.
That's because BYU Television in December started broadcasting a signal on the nation's leading digital satellite television service provider.
Television shows produced at BYU's three campuses in Utah, Idaho and Hawaii have been available in all 50 states and some parts of southern Canada on the Dish Network since last year. The addition of DIRECTV will make BYU-TV available to 14 million homes within the United States.
The channel will feature campus lectures, devotionals, musical performances and local productions. Many men's basketball and football games, however, will not be shown on the channel because of the Mountain West Conference's contract with ESPN.
John Reim, CEO of BYU-TV, says the network will have its own 24-hour programming schedule separate from its parent station KBYU, which is a PBS affiliate in Provo.
"The programming will be as diverse as what you might find on a university campus," said Reim. "It will challenge you intellectually but at the same time, it supports the mission and the values of BYU."
For more information visit www.byutv.org.