Marking its one-year anniversary this month, C-Net, Centre County's government and education channel, is planning to extend sports programming and better management of production this year.

"Our main goals are to increase the quality and quantity of the productions, and to increase the public's awareness of C-Net," said Channel 24 Station Director John Rocco. "We have made great strides in increasing the public's awareness during the past year, but we would like to get more public participation."

Last year's initial goal for first-run program hours per month aimed at 25 to 30 hours, Rocco said, adding that the actual monthly average was 66 hours, with the year's total for first-run program hours at 255.

First-run programming includes live telecasts of local government meetings.

"We accomplished just about everything we wanted," he said.

For the coming year, C-Net executives hope to increase sports coverage at both the college and high school level.

"We want to increase sports programming; its a big part of education," Rocco said.

"There are lots of sports that don't get any coverage," he said. "There are 28 teams at Penn State. Only about three get any real coverage."

C-Net now carries the Penn State ice hockey team every two weeks. The program highlights the games of the past two weeks, and features coaches and players.

Ice hockey is important to many people in the Centre Region, Rocco said, but until now no coverage existed.

"We're the only ones providing any response, although WPSU just started coverage too," he added.

C-Net will also hire a full-time production manager this spring, which will enable the station's programming to be more organized, the director said.

The overall quality of programming improved during the past year, Rocco said. At first, C-Net did not run credits at the end of programs or have a station identification -- a program would just end and the screen would go blank, he said.

Now credits and station identification run, along with graphics and program promotions. Technical difficulties have also decreased, he said, adding, "All have made C-Net more pleasant to watch."

Audience ratings for C-Net are unavailable.

Programs are also run at three different times on three different days to accommodate as many viewers as possible.

C-Net is staffed primarily by volunteers from the community and University. The staff has grown to about 80 or 90 people, Rocco said.

Marie Sears, C-Net's part-time secretary and one of the company's three paid employees, said C-Net is growing so fast that it has created a big problem for production. Producers become frustrated with the stations small editing suite, she said. Facilities in Boucke Building have often been used for interviews.