LOS ANGELES — Ovation TV programming executive Kris Slava believes he knows what plays in Peoria.

It's the same entertainment that sells in New York, Chicago, San Antonio and the rest of America, said Slava. Ovation TV, a decade-old arts channel that has relaunched with national satellite distribution and an ambitious new schedule, wants to prove his argument.

Defying the conventional view of culture on TV as stuffy and obsessed with "plummy British accents," as Slava puts it, Ovation has assembled an eclectic array of performances, films, documentaries and more of both the fine arts and mainstream popular fare.

The revamped Ovation kicked off with "American Revolutionaries," a celebration of innovative artists airing through July 15. The something-for-everyone mix includes programs on Jackson Pollock, Elvis Presley, John Coltrane, Marlon Brando, Frank Lloyd Wright and Kurt Cobain.

The regular lineup has been reworked as well, with each weeknight devoted to a specific genre. Monday's focus is performance, including dance and theater; profiles and movies about artists air Tuesday; the visual arts including architecture, painting and design are on Wednesday; Thursday is music night and Friday puts the spotlights on film.

Daytime fare focuses on classic performances and music.

The channel "has to be engaging," said Slava. "You have to know you're going to come here and you're going to find something that is going to be fun to watch, that is not going to be hard work to watch, that is going to speak to you in a really smart way."

An Illinois native, Slava grew up near Peoria, the fabled Hollywood benchmark for whether a movie could draw more than a big-city audience. There's no geographic differentiation anymore when it comes to passion for the arts, contend Slava and Charles D. Segars, Ovation's CEO.

An innovative generation of artists is creating work that "is much more contemporary and interesting" and is pulling new fans nationally into museums, to live theater and to reinterpretations of opera, Segars said.

Ovation, which debuted in 1996 and was acquired by new owners last year, intends to follow suit. "We're about demystifying art and the arts," Segars said. That means the channel will canvas the worlds of high art and pop culture and actively seek "all generations" from the more traditional arts-seekers to the very young, he said.

Those passionate about art are underserved on TV, Segars said. While PBS remains a culture stalwart, Bravo and A&E have moved toward general entertainment.

"The exciting thing for us is the category is wide open," said Segars, who launched the Fine Living cable network (with Ovation TV Chairman Ken Solomon) and executive produced the film "National Treasure" and its upcoming sequel.

Ovation, delivered by Time Warner and several other cable carriers in major markets, went national via DirecTV last month.

It has a shot at cultivating a niche audience with allure for sponsors, one industry analyst said.

"Is it going to have mass appeal? Probably not. Is it going to be targeted and be a specific opportunity for advertisers, probably upscale advertisers? Probably yes," said Bill Carroll of Katz TV.

To trumpet its makeover, Ovation's "American Revolutionaries" includes several programs making their world or U.S. debuts. The channel plans to air such "festivals" several times annually.

Among the "American Revolutionaries" programs: "Rothko's Rooms," about American abstract artist Mark Rothko (3:30 p.m. Wednesday), and "Meet Marlon Brando" (2 p.m. Friday, July 13), which joins 1966 footage of a Brando news conference shot by documentarians Albert and David Maysles with new commentary from Albert Maysles.