September 5, 2007

New Digital Channel to Focus on Orange County

Susan Valot

Orange County's getting a new voice in the media world. After years of having only one station offering local news and programming, a couple of new outlets are emerging in the county. KPCC's Susan Valot takes a look.

Susan Valot: Six years ago, Orange County residents could flip to OCN, the Orange County News channel, to find out what was happening in their neck of the woods. But the station hit some financial rough waters and sank. Now, a couple of stations are set to navigate the same waters.

KOCE-TV Channel 50 says next month, it'll launch the Orange County Channel on digital TV. KOCE President and CEO Mel Rogers says it'll help bring Orange County out of the shadows of L.A.

Mel Rogers: If this three-million-person population were plopped in the middle of Kansas, it'd have five local television stations and dozens of news vans running around covering the issues and events. We don't have that. This is just scratching the surface.

Valot: The channel will air on Cox and Time Warner Cable, and on the Internet. And you can catch it on digital TVs – once they hit the market. But Rogers says it won't be like OCN and won't face the same financial hurdles.

Rogers: OCN was a commercial channel and had to make profits for investors and others. This is a non-commercial channel. It just has to break even to survive. Secondly, this does not have the kind of overhead OCN had – or anywhere near it – because we don't have dozens of news vans running around.

Valot: Instead, the Orange County Channel will start off with several different issue-based talk shows, about things like economics and health. KOCE's teaming up with Chapman University for the project. Chapman University President Jim Doti says he's particularly looking forward to programs concentrating on Orange County's arts and culture scene – a scene that's mostly ignored by the L.A. media.

Jim Doti: For example, there is in Santa Ana an incredible arts community. They're working closely with Chapman, especially Cal State Fullerton, right in the middle of Santa Ana. Nobody hears about it. Nobody hears what it's about. But there are incredible galleries there. There are very talented people that are involved in it. There are people living there, artists that are living there. Who's ever heard of that?

Valot: On top of KOCE's new Orange County Channel, neighboring KDOC Channel 56 is also coming out soon with a new Orange County-centered morning news show. So why now? Chapman University President Jim Doti:

Doti: Some of it is technology related – the fact that now there's digital spectrum that can be divided up, that you can focus on needs that could not be served before.

Valot: And KOCE president Mel Rogers says it helps that other media's blazed a trail by putting a spotlight on Orange County, even if it wasn't the most flattering spotlight.

Rogers: You know, a lot of us were unhappy when that show "The O.C." came out Fox, 'cause I don't think it was a good reflection on the county. But what it did is it reminded people about Orange County. It gave us the "O.C." acronym. It showed us that Orange County is here and that it is very important.

Valot: The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is helping to fund the Orange County Channel, is using the venture as a prototype. If it works, we could eventually start seeing it in other markets, catering to specific groups via the digital TV spectrum – splitting up the TV signal just like the sections of an orange.