WisconsinEye, a public broadcasting network that provides live coverage of legislative processes and state Supreme Court proceedings, was added to the statewide BadgerNet system last week.

BadgerNet provides data and video services throughout the state of Wisconsin and offers schools access to public programming.

“The state video network serves a number of campuses statewide,” said Chris Long, President and CEO of WisconsinEye.

Previously, WisconsinEye had been distributed only through digital cable by Time Warner and Charter to paying customers. The expansion of WisconsinEye to BadgerNet gives free access to some University of Wisconsin campuses — not including Madison — and public schools, Long said.

The partnership with BadgerNet will bring WisconsinEye to more than 255 schools and 54 college campuses across the state, according to WisconsinEye’s news release.

“It took so long (to get access) because both the legislation and the people creating it wanted it done well so it would flatter the coverage of legislative meetings,” said Brian Rust, Communications manager of UW Division of Information Technology. “WisconsinEye is like the equivalent to C-SPAN, but for the Wisconsin legislature.”

WisconsinEye will benefit many students across the state by making the legislative process more accessible. Both students and faculty concentrating on political sciences will be able to make use of the access to legislative content, Rust said.

“Long-form coverage of the state government is new to Wisconsin,” Long said. “[WisconsinEye] provides gavel-to-gavel coverage — unfiltered, direct, reality TV.”

Long added due to the current deliberations over the 2007-09 state budget, WisconsinEye has received some of its highest ratings.

“One session strictly related to the budget in the Assembly and the Senate, we recorded over 1,000 viewers — our all-time high,” Long said.

Opening access to the government, Long said, allows Wisconsin residents to gain knowledge about and control over government and civil life.

“What we have done is gotten back to the notions of democracy,” Long said.

Though the partnership between the two services has spread access across the state to many UW campuses, Rust said UW-Madison has not yet collaborated with WisconsinEye.

“UW-Madison hasn’t picked it up yet. A contract is currently being arranged, but access will be ready in a few months,” Rust said.