Some on-campus residents at the University of Maryland are now able to stream live television shows and access eight HBO channels thanks to a new pilot program.

Xfinity On Campus — which features live streaming to computers, tablets and smartphones — is available to students living in Elkton Hall, Prince Frederick Hall, South Campus Commons 1 and Courtyards 200. HBO in HD is offered on this university’s channel 133.1.

These additional services materialized thanks to a Comcast contract renegotiation that reduces the monthly rate this university pays for cable, Residential Facilities Director Jon Dooley said. He noted it is in place at several other universities around the country.

The pilot phase, spearheaded by the Department of Residential Facilities and the Division of IT in tandem with Comcast, started this month and will last until February. If the program is deemed successful, more buildings may be added later this spring, according to a Dec. 22 email sent to residents from Dooley.

The pilot is starting with a few buildings, Dooley said, so the Division of IT can “make sure that the campus wireless network is robust enough to handle what may be a modest increase in streaming bandwidth use.” February’s Superbowl will be a good test for the network, he added.

The halls included in the pilot phase feature updated high-density wireless access points, making them ideal for the new program, Dooley said.

The initiative will “hopefully” extend across the entire campus by fall 2017, according to the email.

Ivey Tucker, the Residential Facilities Advisory Board Committee Chair for this university’s Residence Hall Association, said those negotiating the new contract with Comcast kept in mind that many students use their mobile devices to watch television. RHA’s advisory committee has been collaborating with Residential Facilities regarding the contract since last fall, Tucker said.

“Everybody already uses their devices for Netflix all the time,” said Tucker, a junior environmental science and policy major. “They wanted to give something that people may really want to use.”

Tucker noted that other campus programs have implemented a similar measured roll out.

“It’s best to start small and expand over time,” he said. “We’re doing it with the compost program, we’re doing it with other programs on campus; might as well do it with the Comcast as well.”

The facilities and IT departments and Comcast could not be reached for comment. This article will be updated if more information becomes available.