Outdoor Life Channel

In its first major programming initiative, Times Mirror Co. said Monday that it plans to launch a new cable TV network called the Outdoor Life Channel. Times Mirror, which owns the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers and magazines, said the cable TV network will be launched in 1995 and draw upon the resources of its six outdoor life magazines, including Field & Stream, Ski Magazine and Yachting. The new channel, the first venture from the newly formed Times Mirror Programming Co.

"Hey, did you see that game on Versus last night?" That doesn't have quite the same ring as "Hey, did you see that game on ESPN last night?" The executives at Comcast-owned OLN hope someday it does. Today the test begins as the name changes. The cable channel that began in 1995 as the Outdoor Life Network -- mainly fishing and hunting -- and only last July changed to OLN as it picked up the National Hockey League and went indoors, officially has become Versus.

Times Mirror Names VP for Outdoor Life Channel: Peter Englehart was appointed vice president of programming, production and operations of the Outdoor Life channel, a unit of Times Mirror Programming. Englehart, 42, will be responsible for original and acquired programming, studio production and transmission operations for the new channel, scheduled to go on the air this year. Previously, Englehart was director of program planning at ESPN, where he led the development of the ESPN2 channel.

The Mighty Ducks take on the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals beginning tonight, but some local Ducks fans won't be watching it on television. They can't -- unless they get OLN. The cable network, whose contract with the NHL gives it exclusive broadcasting rights throughout this best-of-seven series, reaches only 49% of the cable TV households in the greater Los Angeles market, which includes Orange County. Bill Padian of Torrance is among the disgruntled fans.

The NHL, returning from a season lost to a lockout, needed a cable TV outlet that would give it star billing instead of the bit-player status it had received at ESPN. OLN, known as a hunting-and-fishing haven during the lulls between Lance Armstrong's Tour de France triumphs, wanted to change its image from a quaint and quirky sportsman's paradise to a home for testosterone-fueled competitive sports.

The Mighty Ducks take on the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference finals beginning tonight, but some local Ducks fans won't be watching it on television. They can't -- unless they get OLN. The cable network, whose contract with the NHL gives it exclusive broadcasting rights throughout this best-of-seven series, reaches only 49% of the cable TV households in the greater Los Angeles market, which includes Orange County. Bill Padian of Torrance is among the disgruntled fans.

It may not seem sensible to televise hockey, an indoor sport, on the Outdoor Life Network, but NHL officials seemed pleased with their new national television contract Thursday. "We're in love with the whole deal," said Tim Leiweke, the president of AEG, which owns the Kings. "And we have the right partners. We will miss ESPN, which did a phenomenal job, but this deal marks a fresh start. "ESPN was a servant to 20 masters. On OLN, at least for now, we will be the single most important sport."

"The search for gold is quintessentially American," Andy Dale was telling me the other day, sounding a bit like a college professor lecturing students about American corporate culture. In this case, however, Dale was making a very specific point about the Outdoor Channel, the growing cable network he serves as president and chief executive. Outdoor traces its roots back to an itinerant marketer of gold-prospecting tips and equipment named George "the Old Buzzard" Massie.

"Hey, did you see that game on Versus last night?" That doesn't have quite the same ring as "Hey, did you see that game on ESPN last night?" The executives at Comcast-owned OLN hope someday it does. Today the test begins as the name changes. The cable channel that began in 1995 as the Outdoor Life Network -- mainly fishing and hunting -- and only last July changed to OLN as it picked up the National Hockey League and went indoors, officially has become Versus.

Days of Wine and Neuroses: We hate to second-guess the surgeon general of the United States, but his alcohol research is seriously flawed. For example, the current warning labels on liquor bottles say things like: "Do not drink during pregnancy," "Consumption of alcoholic beverages may impair your ability to pilot the Exxon Valdez" and "Warning: May make members of the opposite sex appear more attractive than they really are."

The NHL, returning from a season lost to a lockout, needed a cable TV outlet that would give it star billing instead of the bit-player status it had received at ESPN. OLN, known as a hunting-and-fishing haven during the lulls between Lance Armstrong's Tour de France triumphs, wanted to change its image from a quaint and quirky sportsman's paradise to a home for testosterone-fueled competitive sports.

It may not seem sensible to televise hockey, an indoor sport, on the Outdoor Life Network, but NHL officials seemed pleased with their new national television contract Thursday. "We're in love with the whole deal," said Tim Leiweke, the president of AEG, which owns the Kings. "And we have the right partners. We will miss ESPN, which did a phenomenal job, but this deal marks a fresh start. "ESPN was a servant to 20 masters. On OLN, at least for now, we will be the single most important sport."

"The search for gold is quintessentially American," Andy Dale was telling me the other day, sounding a bit like a college professor lecturing students about American corporate culture. In this case, however, Dale was making a very specific point about the Outdoor Channel, the growing cable network he serves as president and chief executive. Outdoor traces its roots back to an itinerant marketer of gold-prospecting tips and equipment named George "the Old Buzzard" Massie.

Times Mirror Names VP for Outdoor Life Channel: Peter Englehart was appointed vice president of programming, production and operations of the Outdoor Life channel, a unit of Times Mirror Programming. Englehart, 42, will be responsible for original and acquired programming, studio production and transmission operations for the new channel, scheduled to go on the air this year. Previously, Englehart was director of program planning at ESPN, where he led the development of the ESPN2 channel.

In its first major programming initiative, Times Mirror Co. said Monday that it plans to launch a new cable TV network called the Outdoor Life Channel. Times Mirror, which owns the Los Angeles Times and other newspapers and magazines, said the cable TV network will be launched in 1995 and draw upon the resources of its six outdoor life magazines, including Field & Stream, Ski Magazine and Yachting. The new channel, the first venture from the newly formed Times Mirror Programming Co.

Not long ago, the Big Three broadcast networks liked to boast that they were "programming supermarkets" with something for everyone: mainstream prime-time comedies and dramas, news, sports, cartoons for kids, soap operas for housewives and late-night talk shows for insomniacs. But the concept of providing all things to all viewers is going the way of Mayberry: It represents a quaint and nostalgic view of TV's uncomplicated past.

He's gleefully dangled from rock cliffs, juggling 40 pounds of video gear. He's battled avalanche conditions in Canada to capture award-winning ice-climbing footage. And he's dug into rock and mud to shoot mountain bikers hurtling downhill 3 inches from his lens at 70 mph. But fear comes when Michael A. Strassman sifts through his bills and tallies the cost of more than a decade in the outdoor-adventure video production business.