What's On: The Learning Curve

by Morgan Parker
Winter 1997

A TV network devoted strictly to learning may seem like a pretty boring place. But just as a good teacher can make all the difference in the classroom, a good network has the potential to make learning fun, entertaining and worthwhile, all at the same time.

The Learning Channel (TLC) is proof that TV doesn't have to cater to the lowest common denominator in order to be successful.

Promising "Adventures for Your Mind," TLC has grown from its inception in 1981 as a straight "classroom" channel offering correspondence high school, vocational and college coursework into what is now one of the top-ten rated cable networks in America.

The Learning Channel has programs that focus on history, science, and real-life events. As the name implies, TLC is a network with documentary and educational programming based upon factual information. The majority of these programs deal with past, present, or future events with historical, scientific, or real-life relevance. The programming subject matter varies from kids shows like Swamp Critters to programs about mythical beasts and monsters to World War II documentaries.

The morning line-up is commercial-free and caters to the preschool set. Afternoon programming is targeted towards adult women with travel, bed and breakfast and lifestyle shows. Late afternoon, early evening and weekend programs are largely home improvement and do-it-yourself. Prime-time is aimed at adults 25-54 and is where TLC features its own original world premier productions, such as the critically acclaimed Byzantium: The Lost Empire, a mini-series by historian John Romer which aired in August and explored the mysterious ruins and surviving splendors of ancient Constantinople. (see sidebar for additional programming information).

This season's line-up includes shows like Blast Masters: The Science of Explosion; an original documentary Windsor Restored, produced by Edward Windsor with unprecedented access behind the castle walls; a trip into the science and engineering genius that gave us some of the biggest Super Structures of the World; and a look at the love, greed, and tragedies of a century of ocean liners in Castles of the Sea.

TLC also continues to build on its weeknight Real History and Science Frontiers programming strands while expanding a third programming category Real Life: Real Heroes.

How It Happened

Launched in November 1980, TLC didn't receive widespread public attention until it was purchased by parent company Discovery Communications, Inc. in 1991, which also owns the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet networks.

Since this purchase, TLC has enjoyed huge success and can be seen on cable networks across North America. In just five years, for example, TLC's subscriber count in the United States has jumped from 15 million to nearly 60 million viewing homes and prime-time ratings have increased 500 percent, all the while earning critical acclaim.

The Learning Channel also posted the strongest adult 25-54 prime-time growth of any basic or premium cable network during the 1996-97 broadcast season, nearly doubling its audience from the same period a year ago, and equaling the combined of CNN and CNN Headline News. In an Equitrend study done in 1997, The Learning Channel was rated the number two television brand in the entire U.S.

TLC is part of a new wave of niche-programming made possible by increased channel capacity allowed first through cable television, and now through satellite. In the new increased channel choice scenario that has come of age in the last decade, network shows no longer need ratings measured in tens of millions of viewers to turn a profit.

Steve Cheskin, TLC vice president of programming, says it is always a challenge to maintain quality programming and high ratings, but that the network's mission demands it.

"Every single minute it's a war for those eyeballs out there, but we also answer to a higher calling," Cheskin explains. "I can't just go for the big bucks and the high ratings. We have to produce content that fits our mission. It must be visually engaging, so people will stop at our channel, but then it needs to have a meaningful and well-told story. We're trying to entertain viewers while at the same time we give them something they will find useful and valuable."

After it was acquired by Discovery Communications, TLC tapped a lucrative but relatively unknown corner of the television market by offering people of all ages an enjoyable, entertaining way to learn while satisfying their natural curiosity.

"Viewers across the country want more than just mindless stimulation," Cheskin says. "We're a small network compared to traditional broadcasters, but we're in the top 10 in terms of cable. That indicates to us there are large numbers of consumers who want this programming. Not all of them, but enough so it warrants several networks devoted to this general category of programming."

The Learning Channel proves that television can be more than brain candy. TLC exemplifies the idea that quality, educational programming can do more than just survive in today's market, it can thrive. TLC has succeeded in producing, packaging, and selling the idea that knowledge can be entertainment and television can indeed be the source of "Adventures for Your Mind."