The Service Currently in Over 22 Million Homes Will Also Launch its SVOD
Package on June 1
here! TV Also Licenses Several Content Libraries, and Greenlights 12 Original
Movies and 4 Original Series to Complement the World's Largest Concentration
of Gay and Lesbian Content
LOS ANGELES, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- here! TV, the nation's first
programming service appealing to gay and lesbian audiences, announced today
that, effective October 1, 2004, it will extend its service beyond its current
offering of three to six pay-per-view selections per month and launch a full,
24/7 schedule of movies, new original series, classic films and television
shows and other general entertainment content.
here! TV will also launch an SVOD service consisting of 30 hours per month
on June 1, 2004 and make the pay-per-view slate currently on DIRECTV and
ECHOSTAR available to cable operators via VOD or pay per view. All here! TV
services will be offered on a revenue share basis, and have the flexibility to
offer the channel to their customers as a pay-per-view service, in four-hour
programming blocks, or on a monthly subscription basis. here! TV also offers
a wide spectrum of local marketing support, including local film festival
sponsorships, targeted mailings, community events and giveaway promotions,
tapping into the growing gay and lesbian consumer market, which exceeds $450
billion annually.
In anticipation of the launch of the 24/7 channel, here! TV also announced
today four key licensing deals with industry leaders TLA Releasing, Wolfe
Video, Strand Releasing and Regent Worldwide Sales. The licenses include
nearly 200 titles, comprising the best in gay and lesbian independent cinema.
In addition, here! TV will produce over 200 hours of programming per year,
including feature films, documentaries, story form and non-story form series,
and specials. here! TV has already begun production on multiple episodes of
the following original series:
* Dante's Cove: A gay and lesbian gothic horror thriller written and
directed by Mike Costanza whose short film "Mama Says" screened in
competition at both Cannes and Sundance. Filming on this series has
already begun in the Caribbean.
* Weapons of Mass Destruction: An intense spy thriller starring
International Martial Arts Superstar Cynthia Rothrock as the first
lesbian action hero. Casting is underway for two other lead roles in
the series.
here! TV will announce its non-dramatic series line-up in May 2004.
Current here! TV original motion pictures in production or recently
finished include:
* Deadly Skies: A Colonel thrown out of the military because of "don't
ask, don't tell" returns with a female colleague to save the world
from a killer asteroid.
* The Sisterhood: Horror cult filmmaker Dave Decoteau brings the female
version of his successful "Brotherhood" series to the screen.
Mr. Decoteau has also been contracted for a multi-picture deal with
here! TV for an anthology of films based on horror classics such as
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
* Too Cool for Christmas: Canadian comic Michael Gelbart wrote this
story of a fashion conscious teen who would rather spend Christmas
with her boyfriend than her two dads. James Shavick has begun
production in Vancouver.
* Snowman's Pass: A "Cliffhanger" style thriller where a female mountain
guide faces desperate and deadly criminals.
here! TV will also exclusively premiere films from their in-house
distribution division. here! distribution handles either all North American
rights or Worldwide rights on these and numerous other features:
* Showboy: A mockumentary account of Six Feet Under producer/writer
Christian Taylor's pursuit to be a Las Vegas chorus boy. Currently in
theatrical release at the Quad New York and opens soon at the Regent
Showcase Hollywood.
* Merci Dr. Rey: Merchant Ivory's madcap comedy about sex, opera and
murder. Starring Dianne Wiest, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Birkin, Simon
Callow, and Jerry Hall. Opens this summer at the Angelica Film Center
New York and at the Regent Showcase Hollywood.
* Yes Nurse, No Nurse!: The fun Busby Berkeley style musical based on
the mega hit Dutch series. To be released theatrically this fall.
* Sordid Lives: Del Shores' hilarious sendup of dysfunctional family
life in a small Texas town. Starring Delta Burke, Olivia Newton John,
Beau Bridges and Bonnie Bedelia.
* Friends and Family: A stylish New York comedy about the real gay
mafia.
"here! TV has already gained a strong brand awareness and loyal following
in its current pay-per-view form," said Paul Colichman, President of here! TV.
"The gay and lesbian community has embraced us, because we offer them the
broad array of entertaining, original and exclusive content that they've been
searching for -- but not finding enough of -- on multichannel television. We
have contemplated a 24/7 service all along, and as such, have acquired over
1,500 hours of content. We are in full production with several exciting new
series and movies. Come October 1, the U.S. will have a full-time, general
entertainment network aimed at the gay and lesbian audience. Much of the
programming will also have strong crossover appeal."
"We are looking forward to the fall launch of our 24/7 channel," said Mark
Reinhart, Executive Vice President of Distribution and Acquisitions for here!
TV. "With here! TV, we will increase our program offerings with original
feature films, series, documentaries, and exciting specials, and with this
breadth of content, we are convinced that this underserved yet highly
lucrative market will consider us their 'destination' television."
About here! TV
here! TV is the nation's first full service content provider offering a
wide variety of high-quality movies, original series and general entertainment
programming targeted to a broad-based gay and lesbian audience. here! TV
consists of the here! TV services, here! Productions (a motion picture
studio), here! Films (a U.S.-based films acquisitions and theatrical releasing
arm), and here! International (a feature film international sales company).
here! TV was founded by Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow, acclaimed film
producers and founders and principals of Los Angeles-based film production
company Regent Entertainment. Regent Entertainment is an academy award-
winning full service motion picture studio, producing such critically
acclaimed titles as Gods and Monsters (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner,
Independent Spirit Award winner), Tom & Viv (2 Academy Award nominations and a
Golden Globe nomination), One False Move (Independent Spirit Award winner) and
Twilight of the Golds (Screen Actors Guild nomination).
here! TV launched its pay-per-view service on DirecTV in September 2003
and on DISH Network in April 2004. It is currently available to more than 22
million households nationwide. Headquartered in Los Angeles, here! TV offers
compelling new programming, as well as classic films and television shows, to
both gay and straight viewers interested in the stories, subjects and talents
showcased on the service. For more information, visit here! TV's website at
http://www.heretv.com.
Package on June 1
here! TV Also Licenses Several Content Libraries, and Greenlights 12 Original
Movies and 4 Original Series to Complement the World's Largest Concentration
of Gay and Lesbian Content
LOS ANGELES, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- here! TV, the nation's first
programming service appealing to gay and lesbian audiences, announced today
that, effective October 1, 2004, it will extend its service beyond its current
offering of three to six pay-per-view selections per month and launch a full,
24/7 schedule of movies, new original series, classic films and television
shows and other general entertainment content.
here! TV will also launch an SVOD service consisting of 30 hours per month
on June 1, 2004 and make the pay-per-view slate currently on DIRECTV and
ECHOSTAR available to cable operators via VOD or pay per view. All here! TV
services will be offered on a revenue share basis, and have the flexibility to
offer the channel to their customers as a pay-per-view service, in four-hour
programming blocks, or on a monthly subscription basis. here! TV also offers
a wide spectrum of local marketing support, including local film festival
sponsorships, targeted mailings, community events and giveaway promotions,
tapping into the growing gay and lesbian consumer market, which exceeds $450
billion annually.
In anticipation of the launch of the 24/7 channel, here! TV also announced
today four key licensing deals with industry leaders TLA Releasing, Wolfe
Video, Strand Releasing and Regent Worldwide Sales. The licenses include
nearly 200 titles, comprising the best in gay and lesbian independent cinema.
In addition, here! TV will produce over 200 hours of programming per year,
including feature films, documentaries, story form and non-story form series,
and specials. here! TV has already begun production on multiple episodes of
the following original series:
* Dante's Cove: A gay and lesbian gothic horror thriller written and
directed by Mike Costanza whose short film "Mama Says" screened in
competition at both Cannes and Sundance. Filming on this series has
already begun in the Caribbean.
* Weapons of Mass Destruction: An intense spy thriller starring
International Martial Arts Superstar Cynthia Rothrock as the first
lesbian action hero. Casting is underway for two other lead roles in
the series.
here! TV will announce its non-dramatic series line-up in May 2004.
Current here! TV original motion pictures in production or recently
finished include:
* Deadly Skies: A Colonel thrown out of the military because of "don't
ask, don't tell" returns with a female colleague to save the world
from a killer asteroid.
* The Sisterhood: Horror cult filmmaker Dave Decoteau brings the female
version of his successful "Brotherhood" series to the screen.
Mr. Decoteau has also been contracted for a multi-picture deal with
here! TV for an anthology of films based on horror classics such as
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and "The Fall of the House of Usher."
* Too Cool for Christmas: Canadian comic Michael Gelbart wrote this
story of a fashion conscious teen who would rather spend Christmas
with her boyfriend than her two dads. James Shavick has begun
production in Vancouver.
* Snowman's Pass: A "Cliffhanger" style thriller where a female mountain
guide faces desperate and deadly criminals.
here! TV will also exclusively premiere films from their in-house
distribution division. here! distribution handles either all North American
rights or Worldwide rights on these and numerous other features:
* Showboy: A mockumentary account of Six Feet Under producer/writer
Christian Taylor's pursuit to be a Las Vegas chorus boy. Currently in
theatrical release at the Quad New York and opens soon at the Regent
Showcase Hollywood.
* Merci Dr. Rey: Merchant Ivory's madcap comedy about sex, opera and
murder. Starring Dianne Wiest, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Birkin, Simon
Callow, and Jerry Hall. Opens this summer at the Angelica Film Center
New York and at the Regent Showcase Hollywood.
* Yes Nurse, No Nurse!: The fun Busby Berkeley style musical based on
the mega hit Dutch series. To be released theatrically this fall.
* Sordid Lives: Del Shores' hilarious sendup of dysfunctional family
life in a small Texas town. Starring Delta Burke, Olivia Newton John,
Beau Bridges and Bonnie Bedelia.
* Friends and Family: A stylish New York comedy about the real gay
mafia.
"here! TV has already gained a strong brand awareness and loyal following
in its current pay-per-view form," said Paul Colichman, President of here! TV.
"The gay and lesbian community has embraced us, because we offer them the
broad array of entertaining, original and exclusive content that they've been
searching for -- but not finding enough of -- on multichannel television. We
have contemplated a 24/7 service all along, and as such, have acquired over
1,500 hours of content. We are in full production with several exciting new
series and movies. Come October 1, the U.S. will have a full-time, general
entertainment network aimed at the gay and lesbian audience. Much of the
programming will also have strong crossover appeal."
"We are looking forward to the fall launch of our 24/7 channel," said Mark
Reinhart, Executive Vice President of Distribution and Acquisitions for here!
TV. "With here! TV, we will increase our program offerings with original
feature films, series, documentaries, and exciting specials, and with this
breadth of content, we are convinced that this underserved yet highly
lucrative market will consider us their 'destination' television."
About here! TV
here! TV is the nation's first full service content provider offering a
wide variety of high-quality movies, original series and general entertainment
programming targeted to a broad-based gay and lesbian audience. here! TV
consists of the here! TV services, here! Productions (a motion picture
studio), here! Films (a U.S.-based films acquisitions and theatrical releasing
arm), and here! International (a feature film international sales company).
here! TV was founded by Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow, acclaimed film
producers and founders and principals of Los Angeles-based film production
company Regent Entertainment. Regent Entertainment is an academy award-
winning full service motion picture studio, producing such critically
acclaimed titles as Gods and Monsters (Academy Award and Golden Globe winner,
Independent Spirit Award winner), Tom & Viv (2 Academy Award nominations and a
Golden Globe nomination), One False Move (Independent Spirit Award winner) and
Twilight of the Golds (Screen Actors Guild nomination).
here! TV launched its pay-per-view service on DirecTV in September 2003
and on DISH Network in April 2004. It is currently available to more than 22
million households nationwide. Headquartered in Los Angeles, here! TV offers
compelling new programming, as well as classic films and television shows, to
both gay and straight viewers interested in the stories, subjects and talents
showcased on the service. For more information, visit here! TV's website at
http://www.heretv.com.
