Cable owner brews 'love' channe
By Brenda Thornton
Of th0 Emerald
What the world needs now Is love,
cable TV style, says the owner of a
Eugene cable network
Dave Sweet calls his Eugene-based
cable network "earth of love and says it
will have nothing to do with other adult
love" channels or the national
networks' "love in the afternoon" soap
operas
Instead of equating love with sex,
earth of love will revolve around the
universal definition of love as a positive
uniting force, Sweet says
"Love is the key to human exper
ience," he says, something we all need
to share "
With his non-profit network. Sweet
proposes to abate what he says is a
deepening lack of love Describing it as
"communications with a heart," Sweet is
preparing a program schedule that in
cludes children's programming by chil
dren, dramatic human interest shows,
theatrical productions, music ana even
two-way community information ser
vices
We live in a world with a vast com
munication potential." Sweet says "It all
comes down to what you want to
communicate
area with four community channels This
entertainment alternative costs $7 95, a
dollar more than Denver viewers pay to
choose from 90 channels.
Tonight, at its 7:30 p.m. meeting, the
Eugene City Council begins a re-evalua
tion of the city’s cable system Sweet
‘Communications with heart’
A combined interest in love and
telecommunications, prompted Sweet to
research the practicality and technical
possibility of a national love" cable
network, with eight receiving-transmit
ting dishes across the nation The results
of his investigation of available facilities
were disappointing
For example, Teleprompter. Eugene's
cable franchise system since 1978,
provides only 28 channels in the Eugene
plans to present his findings in that
meeting
He wants Teleprompter to provide
greater service to Eugene, and he
requests that the small 3,000 square foot
community studio be moved from its
present location at 592 W 12th Ave., to
the vacated Lincoln School. The move
would increase studio-space by 1,000
square feet and keep the $20,000 set for
studio repair in a public facility instead of
a privately owned location.
Teleprompter should adequately sup
ply the community station with the
proper equipment, Sweet says. He also
says he sees the need for more com
munity access hook-ups around the city,
including one in MacArthur Court and
one at Autzen Stadium to broadcast
events.
His channel — “earth of love" — will be
economically beneficial to the Eugene
community, he says. As a part of the
cable system, “earth of love" will not
charge viewers for the programming and
could create new jobs, he explains.
As a non-profit organization, funding
will be raised by such methods as leasing
their mobile unit to community groups
and satellite broadcasting of local events
and by other contributions.
The network may be on the air in late
1983, Sweet says, but he calls that es
timate “conservative.”
“Personally, I think we will be broad
casting by the middle of next year,” he
predicts.
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