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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES UCTV, A TELEVISION CHANNEL DEDICATED TO EDUCATIONAL AND ENRICHMENT PROGRAMMING

The University of California today announced that it launched its own public interest television channel, UCTV, available to more than 3 million viewers on prime time television throughout North America on EchoStar's DISH Network satellite television service.

UCTV will draw upon the vast resources of UC to provide the general public with informational, educational and enrichment programming featuring documentaries, faculty lectures, interviews, research symposia, distinguished speakers and artistic performances.

“This is an important milestone for the University of California,” said Richard C. Atkinson, president of the University of California and a prime proponent of inviting the public to find out more about UC through new media. “Chancellors of the ten UC campuses share my excitement over this new opportunity to serve California and the nation. In an era of 90-second news stories there is a real need for in-depth coverage of ideas and issues that affect the lives of people everywhere,” said Atkinson.

The UCTV program schedule is divided into two four-hour blocks, for an eight-hour total, that will broadcast during East Coast prime time, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m, seven days a week. The long term plan is for UCTV to broadcast 24 hours a day; in the short term, a bulletin board with pertinent UC facts and information will air during the remaining time.

The schedule provides blocks of time for thematic subjects - science, technology, health, arts, public affairs, humanities - and for individual campuses. Current programs include a discussion of global change by UC Irvine's Nobel Laureate F. Sherwood Rowland, a gamelan ensemble concert from UC Riverside, a film historian's research from UC San Diego on all-black westerns, and a UCLA professor's study of sabertooth cats. The programs airing on UCTV also will be broadcast live and on-demand on the Internet at UCTVonline.org (URL: www.uctvonline.org).

"It was a major accomplishment to get this program up and working under a tight deadline. We look forward to working on the quality of the broadcasts so that viewers will turn to our channel first for in-depth information," said Julius Zelmanowitz, UC interim vice provost of academic initiatives, who helped prepare and submit the UC proposal to EchoStar. Zelmanowitz said that UCTV will allow UC faculty to share the results of their scholarship and cutting-edge research directly with the general public across a broad range of subject areas.

UCTV will build on the success of a broadcast channel developed by the University of California at San Diego seven years ago. Today, UCSD-TV (Channel 35) serves one million homes in San Diego and provides programming to other stations around the country, including stations in New York City, Seattle, Palo Alto and Washington, D.C.

"UCSD has long supported the use of broadcast programming to give the general public access to knowledge, ideas, and entertainment from both the campus and the local community," said UCSD Chancellor Robert C. Dynes. "The success and value of UCSD-TV, now in its seventh year, is the model for UCTV and we are pleased to play a key role in the development of unique and innovative broadcast capabilities for the UC system."

It is expected that UCTV, like UCSD-TV, will focus on UC activities but also will develop programs through partnerships with community organizations. Currently, UCSD-TV partners with the San Diego City Club, San Diego Union-Tribune, Natural History Museum, San Diego Opera, Old Globe Theatre and many other organizations. UCTV will expand the model around the state.

"UCTV will help us meet our commitment to improve K-12 education. UC programs can help K-12 teachers in their classroom work and in staying up-to-date on the newest developments in their disciplines. And in the near future, students and their parents may only have to turn to our channel to get information on admissions and course requirements for access to college," said Atkinson.

UCTV is broadcast on channel 9412 and is available to viewers with a satellite dish antenna pointed at 119 degrees West Longitude. The UCTV channel enables EchoStar to meet its obligation to set aside four percent of its airtime for public interest education programming, under Federal Communications Commission rules based on the 1992 Federal Cable Act.

Schedule of featured programs on UCTV: