A History of Distance Learning Advent of Educational Pay TV (Part 2 of 3) by Ken Freed Apart from the educational content broadcast for free to the public by antenna-based terrestrial broadcasters (local TV stations), "pay TV" services also have gained a large market share by delivering educational content. Cable, satellite and microwave system operators are offering single educational programs and series that fit into a school curriculum rather than end-to-end telecourses. They have steadily gained market share by delivering superior video quality than broadcast TV, and by offering multichannel services. Two world champions in educational TV content production are Jones International and Discovery Communications. Let's look at each. Glenn Jones bought his first Colorado cable TV system in 1967 using $400 borrowed against his Volkswagen. From that tiny mountain community system, he's built a global cablecasting empire by organizing public limited partnerships to raise more than $1 billion in capital to acquire of local cable systems. Most recently, Jones has begun selling off his local systems to become only a programming supplier. He's pursuing his first love &emdash; education. In 1987, Jones launched Mind Extension University, M/EU, a cable channel carrying varied educational programming, much of it for participating colleges and universities linked to M/EU students through the Jones College Connection. The advent of the Internet helped facilitate communication in these telecourses. Ten years later, in 1997, M/EU was rebranded Knowledge TV for carriage in the US and Europe as a source of programs for college students and adult home learners who want to extend their minds. Jones seems to be putting all his eggs into the Knowledge TV basket. A rival pay TV service is The Discovery Channel, founded in 1985 by John Hendricks. Acting on his vision of a channel offering quality documentaries. After years of being rejected by potential investors, Hendricks finally obtained finacial backing from Westinghouse Group W Satellite, New York Life and others. He showed the business case for a basic cable channel deftly targeting the highest common denominator among subscribers. Think advertising. Hendricks broke ground by proving that ideals are profitable if backed by sound business principles. His argument that since won investments from hardnosed cable operators like TCI, United, Cox, and other major players in or out of cable. Since negotiating contracts delivering Discovery to seven million U.S. households in its very first year of operations, Discovery's audience has grown until today's tally surpassing 60 million cable and satellite viewers worldwide. Where once Hendricks obtained rights to others' work, Discovery now commissions tis very award-winning original documentaries. Journalistic accuracy and high production values of Discovery documentaries have earned the programs a place in the curriculum of numerous educational institutions, from grade schools through graduate schools. Discovery recently launched derivative niche programming services, like The Learning Channel, and the initial response looks good. Another American pay TV player with global importance is Ted Turner, now part of the Time-Warner team, creator of superstation TBS and the Cable News Network (CNN). He overcame endless skepticism to establish CNN as the world's leading news service (chiefly through the Gulf War). CNN recently launched a K12 school service in the USA under the umbrella of Cable in the Classroom, Cable in the Classroom is important. A coalition of cable companies provides content that teachers can record and replay, royalty free, to educate students from kindergarten through high school, enacting a genuine commitment to public education within the cable industry. Cable in the Classroom reaches more than 90 percent of the public primary and secondary schools in the United States. These ventures represent only the tip of the iceberg, of course, yet the trend is clear. Subscrption TV services have played and will continue to play a vital role in the evolution of educational media. Go to Part 3   For More Information on Distance Learning: Visit the: Online Resources Page at ADEC (c) 1998-2005 by Ken Freed. Based on the book, Financial Opportunities in Educational Television, by Ken Freed. Financial Times Media & Telecoms, London, 1998. (ISBN 1-84073-016-1)

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Last update: 7 APRIL 2003

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