UNC-TV Presents...UNC-EX The Explorer Channel
Turn On, Tune In & Take Off

UNC-EX, The Explorer Channel--featuring the best in travel, culture, science, nature, history, and outdoor adventure programming.  UNC-EX will bring viewers programs that are exhilarating, intriguing, and fun.

UNC-EX, like UNC-TV and UNC-KD, a channel featuring all children's programming, will be available free of charge to over-the-air viewers who receive service using an antenna and can also be obtained through a digital cable subscription from local cable providers in North Carolina, as well as parts of Virginia and South Carolina.

Examples of what viewers will find on UNC-EX, The Explorer Channel, include travel series hosted by Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa, and Burt Wolf; cooking programs like New Scandinavian Cooking and Lidia's Italy; adventure programs like Globe Trekker and Passport to Adventure; science programs like NOVA, NATURE, and Secrets of the Dead; UNC-TV original productions like Exploring North Carolina and North Carolina Weekend; and special documentaries and limited series such as Ken Burns' THE NATIONAL PARKS: America's Best Idea.

The new service is being offered by UNC-TV in response to a demonstrated need for diverse public television programming for adults, including daytime programming.  In addition to providing one channel dedicated entirely to children, UNC-KD, UNC-TV also operates under a variety of requirements from PBS related to the number of hours of children's programs that must be carried on the UNC-TV service.  UNC-TV also follows PBS' "common carriage" restrictions that mean UNC-TV is obligated to carry a certain percentage of the programming provided by PBS.  All of these things dramatically reduce the flexibility within the UNC-TV schedule.

With the launch of UNC-EX there will be a public television alternative for adults who seek engaging and stimulating programming that will not add to the stress level of the viewer.  In short, similar to how UNC-TV provides a safe haven for children, UNC-EX will provide a safe haven for grownups.

The concept for UNC-EX, The Explorer Channel, is derived from in-depth market research performed for PBS by veteran Madison Avenue executive Margaret Mark.  Mark's unique approach to market research is based on the use of archetypes, a method of describing fundamental elements of the human personality.  Her research for PBS revealed that the core PBS audience identifies strongly with the Explorer, one of the basic personality archetypes described in the writings of Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung.  Archetypes are very powerful concepts that are embedded in the human psyche regardless of culture and history and are based on very basic attitudes about personal identity.  Mark's research revealed that public television viewers consistently indicated a desire to experience places that they may never actually see.  Individuals who like new experiences, enjoy scanning expanded horizons, and want to see things from varied perspectives are the people most likely to be public television viewers.

UNC-EX, The Explorer Channel, has been designed with the interests of this audience foremost in mind.

Betty McCain, chair of the UNC-TV Board of Trustees, welcomed the announcement, saying, "We're delighted to make this wonderful new channel available and, even in this economy, to find another way to meet the needs of the people of North Carolina.  This is a further example of how the transition to digital television opens up exciting new opportunities for service, and we're so blessed to be able to take advantage of them."

The UNC-EX Explorer Channel will provide an appealing alternative for adults who enjoy public television and have a lively curiosity about the world around them.

Coinciding with the launch of UNC-EX, the identity of the digital cable-only service known as UNC-ED will change to UNC-MX, which signifies that it is a mix of programming for adults, from public affairs to how-to and more.  This will be a more accurate reflection of the eclectic mix of programming that viewers already see on this service.  Thus, the complete lineup of UNC-TV program services is:

UNC-TV
UNC-EX
UNC-KD
UNC-MX (available only to digital cable subscribers)