First University to Offer Free Streaming of Multiple Movies

Minnesota State Mankato will be the first university in the country offering free streaming of multiple movies to students, faculty and staff through a pilot program initiated by the Student Events Team. 

“We are the first university in the entire country, world, to offer this service the way we are doing it,” said Bill Tourville, Student Activities assistant director of campus programming and advisor to the Student Events Team. “This is the first time that students, faculty and staff can watch content from their home with more than one movie available throughout the week.” 

Beginning Jan. 10, the free MavFLIX service to the campus community will offer three to four movies each week. Viewers using their Star ID login will access the movies through the www.stomperscinema website. The pilot program will run at least four to five weeks and early movie offerings including “Dune,” “Externals,” and “Matrix 4.” Family viewing hopefuls available through the streaming service include “Clifford,” and “Encanto.” 

Many of the movies will be available before they run on streaming formats,” Tourville added.  

As with most in-person campus cinema programs, Stomper’s Cinema came to a screeching halt as a result of COVID.  

At Minnesota State Mankato, the Student Events Team sought an alternative that looked beyond one movie a week. So, the team approached their movie provider with a multiple-movie, 24-7 streaming option. 

“We proposed this idea to them,” Tourville said. “We said, ‘we need variety. One movie a week just doesn’t work.’ This is what they came back with.” 

Tourville said plans are also in the works for a return to in-person Stomper’s Cinema showings in Ostrander Auditorium sometime in January. Both the streaming and in-person options will be available with different movies on each platform. 

While Stomper’s Cinema will have a set movie schedule, the streaming lineup will be a bit of serendipity. 

“Each week will be a little different. So, the idea is you never know what’s going to be on there week-to-week,” he said. “There’s always something new.” 

The free streaming service allows access to movies available through HBO, Disney and other platforms without membership. Viewing can be done through campus login by computer or phone. 

“You could go home and watch the movie with your family,” Tourville added. “It’s gonna be really cool.”