Source: USA Today
'Underserved' viewers get new gay channel
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY
Sure, there's Will & Grace, Queer Eye and The L Word. But starting this week, gay and lesbian viewers have two full-fledged networks of their own.
Sex in the city: The Logo channel's drama Noah's Arc follows four gay men who live in Los Angeles.
Logo
Logo, MTV Networks' long-planned basic-cable channel, is scheduled to launch Thursday in 10 million digital cable homes in 22 top cities. (Related story: Gay TV's coming out party)
The 24-hour, ad-supported network joins Here! TV, an ad-free pay service started in 2003 by producer Paul Colichman as an outlet for his independent films. Here! is available on cable and satellite systems reaching 44 million homes, either by monthly subscription or as three-hour program blocks. Another pay channel, Q Television, emphasizes lifestyle coverage from major cities but has scant reach.
"There have been more gay characters and themes in television and film, but we haven't had a home base of our own," says Logo president Brian Graden.
And advertisers — including Logo backers Miller Lite, Subaru and Motorola- have been frustrated by limited options.
"There hasn't been a very efficient way to deliver a sustained message to gays and lesbians," says Howard Buford, founder of Prime Access, an ad agency specializing in gay and ethnic marketing. "If there's a channel dedicated only to redecorating a house or only to preparing food, it seems a channel for gays and lesbians should have preceded that."
"It's one of the last great underserved segments of the TV world," Graden says.
In fact, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population is estimated at up to 7% of adults, according to the Williams Project at UCLA, although the percentage is much higher in some big cities.
Here!, which features R-rated movies and dramas that don't shy from sexuality, is earning nearly $1 million a month in subscription fees, Colichman says. Here! "caught on because gays and lesbians want to see authentic media images of themselves," compared with "neutered" depictions in some mainstream TV.
Because Logo is free, it's attracting more notice, though its content is far tamer. Kagan Research senior analyst Derek Baine is optimistic about Logo's prospects and predicts it will reach 24 million homes next year, using the pull of its affiliation with MTV.
"It's targeting a niche that is underserved, it's backed by a media conglomerate with a lot of leverage, and (parent) Viacom has such a huge infrastructure they can do it for very low cost," spending just $16 million on programming.
'Underserved' viewers get new gay channel
By Gary Levin, USA TODAY
Sure, there's Will & Grace, Queer Eye and The L Word. But starting this week, gay and lesbian viewers have two full-fledged networks of their own.
Sex in the city: The Logo channel's drama Noah's Arc follows four gay men who live in Los Angeles.
Logo
Logo, MTV Networks' long-planned basic-cable channel, is scheduled to launch Thursday in 10 million digital cable homes in 22 top cities. (Related story: Gay TV's coming out party)
The 24-hour, ad-supported network joins Here! TV, an ad-free pay service started in 2003 by producer Paul Colichman as an outlet for his independent films. Here! is available on cable and satellite systems reaching 44 million homes, either by monthly subscription or as three-hour program blocks. Another pay channel, Q Television, emphasizes lifestyle coverage from major cities but has scant reach.
"There have been more gay characters and themes in television and film, but we haven't had a home base of our own," says Logo president Brian Graden.
And advertisers — including Logo backers Miller Lite, Subaru and Motorola- have been frustrated by limited options.
"There hasn't been a very efficient way to deliver a sustained message to gays and lesbians," says Howard Buford, founder of Prime Access, an ad agency specializing in gay and ethnic marketing. "If there's a channel dedicated only to redecorating a house or only to preparing food, it seems a channel for gays and lesbians should have preceded that."
"It's one of the last great underserved segments of the TV world," Graden says.
In fact, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender population is estimated at up to 7% of adults, according to the Williams Project at UCLA, although the percentage is much higher in some big cities.
Here!, which features R-rated movies and dramas that don't shy from sexuality, is earning nearly $1 million a month in subscription fees, Colichman says. Here! "caught on because gays and lesbians want to see authentic media images of themselves," compared with "neutered" depictions in some mainstream TV.
Because Logo is free, it's attracting more notice, though its content is far tamer. Kagan Research senior analyst Derek Baine is optimistic about Logo's prospects and predicts it will reach 24 million homes next year, using the pull of its affiliation with MTV.
"It's targeting a niche that is underserved, it's backed by a media conglomerate with a lot of leverage, and (parent) Viacom has such a huge infrastructure they can do it for very low cost," spending just $16 million on programming.
