Posted on 05/01/2002 9:24:59 AM PDT by My Favorite Headache
MTV, Showtime to create gay channel
Detroit Free Press
Animal lovers, soap opera fans and science fiction aficionados -- all have their own cable channels. Homosexual viewers have never had one devoted to their interests, but that's about to change. There's suddenly a race to reach that market.
Two Viacom outlets -- MTV and Showtime -- are collaborating on a plan for a new gay-oriented premium service. Meanwhile, Canada's existing Pridevision TV is looking to expand into the United States.
Showtime, whose successful "Queer as Folk" drama helped change the business climate, has scheduled homosexual-oriented movies and programs on its Showtime Two service on Wednesday nights. "Night Out on Sho Too Wednesdays" begins on May 22.
Homosexual activists say it's about time.
"Despite the progress the gay community has made in the mainstream media, it is still underserved as a television audience," says Scott Seomin, spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
MTV and Showtime's prospective gay channel has been talked about since 1994, but only recently have executives started outlining their plans to cable and satellite distributors.
Although Viacom still hasn't given the official go-ahead, "we wouldn't be going through all this if we didn't think the channel, as a consumer proposition, wasn't going to be a home run," says Gene Falk, senior vice president of digital media programming at Showtime.
Their plans -- even the channel's name -- have been kept under wraps. But Falk says Viacom's other successful niche networks, like MTV and Nickelodeon, should hint at the mix of games, reality shows, talk shows and movies the channel will schedule.
John Levy, chairman of Canada's Pridevision, believes his network has an advantage over Viacom.
"First of all, we exist," he says. "We have a commitment to do this thing on a full-time basis. We're not testing or doing a block of programming once or twice a week."
Pridevision's fare includes "Locker Room," a comedy show about homosexuals in sports; "Undercovers," a phone-in sex advice show; "Dyke TV," a news and commentary show about lesbians; and "Urban Fitness TV," a lifestyle show. The channel's on-air hosts are called "gay jays."
Seomin says he's been impressed. Pridevision's range of original shows is strong for a start-up, he says, and the executives show savvy in scheduling. They'll air the camp classic, "Mommie Dearest" on Mother's Day.
Both prospective networks want to be premium services, meaning cable or satellite customers would have to request and pay for the channel.
One important area where they diverge: Pridevision offers late-night erotic films, and the Viacom venture won't.
"You almost can't launch the network if you don't have some form of erotica as part of it," Levy says. Otherwise, he said, "you're not being true to the community."
Falk says that most homosexuals can find erotica easily. What they can't find is other quality programming geared to their interests.
"As a gay man, I resent the notion that the only way you're going to sell me something is if it has porn on it," Falk says. "To say that it's the only way the audience is going to respond is, I think, offensive."
The conservative American Family Association plans to oppose any effort to get a gay-oriented channel established, whether it offers X-rated movies or not, says spokesman Ed Vitagliano.
After years in which the homosexual audience has been ignored, why have the forces now been unleashed for competition?
"Queer as Folk" proved to many television programmers that a gay-oriented program could be a ratings winner without stirring a damaging backlash.
At the same time, cable executives believe niche networks are easier to establish and be profitable than those that offer general entertainment. The expansion of digital service also means there is more "shelf space" available for new channels on cable and satellite systems.
Welcome! It's time to play "Hide the Gerbil!"
It's about time! The other ones are pathetically sad.
You mean they already don't have one?
Has this show gotten good ratings?
The Gay community as a whole does enjoy a reputation, whether or not deserved, for being somewhat upscale on the economic ladder. That makes them a target for advertisers who would like their commerce. What this experiment should prove is the size of that demographic, and how well that converts into ad dollars.
Michael
Happy channels to you!
I am seeing more and more posters abandoning the phrase "GAY" to describe people that practice homosexuality. SAD (same-sex attraction disorder) is much more descriptive. I am happy to see the word gay coming back to normal usage.
ROFLMBO!
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