A television station based in Olds has found a home on the community's O-NET fibre-optic network.
Central Alberta Television (CATV) and O-NET, the service provider and marketing brand for Olds Fibre Ltd., a company owned by the Olds Institute for Community and Regional Development, reached an agreement on Sept. 10 where the station is now offered as a channel through O-NET's base television package.
O-NET began offering CATV, which has a home base at a studio on 47 Street and produces local content for the entire region, on Sept. 20.
With its inclusion in the O-NET television package, CATV has begun airing new and revamped programs including a new daily morning show called Wake Up Alberta, Real Talk, a weekly show focusing on social issues, and A Better Me, another weekly show offering unique perspectives on health care.
A new weekly show that will provide updates on the regional economy is also in the works and will be hosted by Juan Manigault, a former public broadcaster from the U.S.
Kimberley Courtney, who co-hosts Wake Up Alberta with Charlotte Hogarth, said the aim of her program is to “highlight” local residents, business owners and even celebrities.
“It's bringing a real life connection to the community,” she said. “It's a platform for everyone to have a voice in the community.”
Hogarth added the show will also bring attention to community events from across the region.
Wake Up Alberta airs Monday to Friday at 8 a.m. and includes a call-in feature.
Fred C. May Jr, president of RDTV Ltd., CATV's parent company, launched CATV seven years ago.
He said the new content produced for the channel's inclusion in the O-NET package complements existing programs such as the politics-focused Marz Report, hosted by former Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Richard Marz, and This Country Called Agriculture, where regional agricultural issues are discussed, as well as local news coverage.
May, who lives in Olds, said he started working with the Olds Institute to develop a local television service seven years ago and the launch of O-NET earlier this year provided the perfect opportunity to deliver CATV to the community.
He added the aim of the station is to give people a chance to see what's happening in their own community, rather than news and community events coverage that focuses on cities several hours away.
“That's the void we want to fill,” he said. “It's important to me that we provide local content.”
May's career in television began in the 1960s when he started broadcasting wrestling shows out of Calgary and he said he has also served as a television director in Nigeria for 15 years.
He said he is looking forward to more people in communities throughout the region embracing CATV now that it is being offered through O-NET, which currently carries between 180 and 190 channels.
“I just hope people watch,” May said. “I hope people get involved.”
CATV is the first local television channel offered through O-NET's basic television package and O-NET is working on website hosting for CATV's content.
