To the delight of Dr. Ron Keast, Canadian Learning Television will light up the cable wires in the fall. Keast, the current president of ACCESS Learning Television in Edmonton, will act as president and ceo of the new specialty, having also been one of the players (with chum’s Moses Znaimer, Peter Palframan and Ross Mayot) who pitched the service to the crtc. As an example of good things coming to those who have waited, Keast and partners are rewarded with the first Canadian national educational television service.

Broadcasting out of Edmonton, clt’s ownership is divided between chum (60%), Moses Znaimer and Olympus Management (20%), Dr. Keast (15.5%) and chum’s vp of programming, Jay Switzer (4.5%). Znaimer will act as clt’s chairman and executive producer. According to an estimation by Keast and company, with clt being carried by both ExpressVu and Star Choice, as well as most cable systems, the specialty’s initial reach should be to 1.5 million Canadian households, although carriage of the channel is, as of press time, not completely confirmed.

The subject matter of clt is in the name. The service will be integrated with places of higher learning, keeping the Canadian masses informed and entertained while they are learning. According to Keast, education has never been so painless.

‘Our business is to market, promote and sell learning opportunities and services, and to do that in partnership with post-secondary institutions, both private and public,’ says Dr. Keast. ‘Not just universities and colleges, but also with skills development groups across the country.’

Keast says at launch, 50% of clt programming will be linked to existing post-secondary courses across Canada. Through the programs on clt, viewers can reach the featured institutions for further information and learning materials on the subject matter being discussed.

‘It is what will be attached to many of the programs that we will be offering that will make the service distinctly different,’ says Keast.

The Canadian content ratio for clt is 50% in primetime, 60% overall. Many of the productions being developed for the channel are being done with Toronto’s Sleeping Giant Productions. Keast confirms two pilots in the works with Sleeping Giant. The first, under the working title The Originals of Scholarship, being produced with the Centre for Advanced Research in Toronto, is a series similar to Citytv’s The Originals, with the focus being shifted exclusively to scholars. The second will demonstrate the effectiveness and potential star power of Great Teachers, also a working title.

‘At every university, there are about five or six great performers, and every student knows of them and wants to be in their class because they are terrific,’ says Keast. ‘We want to find them and shoot them in their setting so that they will be entertaining, dynamic performers.’

Other Canadian producers that will be contributing to the clt schedule are Great North Productions, Vicom, Norflicks Productions and Blackstone Multimedia. Much of the programming – the bulk, in fact – will be from independent producers. The only in-house production from clt to speak of is currently HELP Hot!Line, the daily half-hour interactive employment and job training program.

Keast says nearly every subject imaginable will be featured on clt, from classic English literature to business technology.

An easy misconception to make about a channel that devotes itself to learning is that it may be for university-aged students alone. According to Keast, the channel is intended for students and adults aged 18-plus who are looking to better themselves for employment opportunities, and further their independent learning at a distance. He says the marketing of the new service will need to be indicative of that.

‘We hope to reach students and lifelong learners because really our business is marketing lifelong learning,’ says Keast. ‘We all have to continue learning and continue to be educated if we are going to be employed. This is especially true for younger people who are getting into new electronic business, who have to upgrade their skills every five years, otherwise, they are redundant.’

Dr. Keast and partners will officially launch Canadian Learning Television with a party in Edmonton on Oct. 4. The service can be seen on tv as of Sept. 1.