Viacom to Launch Gay Network
By JOE FLINT, WSJ.com from the Web, May 26, 2004
NEW YORK - Viacom Inc. has come up with a name and a launch date for its much-anticipated cable network targeted to the gay and lesbian community, but it remains vague on details about how it will program the channel.
Dubbed Logo, the network will launch Feb. 17. MTV Networks President Judy McGrath said that name was chosen because it "avoids stereotypical images and icons."
The underlying theme of the channel, she said, is "different together," and besides gays and lesbians it also will look to attract bisexual and transgender viewers.
Tom Freston, the chairman of Viacom's MTV Networks, which will oversee Logo, said the channel would be offered to cable operators as a digital service. Right now there are about 22 million cable subscribers who receive digital cable channels. Mr. Freston said he expects Logo to be in between 10 million and 14 million homes by the end of next year.
The network said it already has distribution commitments from Time Warner Inc.'s New York City cable system and Adelphia Communications Corp.'s Los Angeles system. While Mr. Freston declined to say how much Viacom would invest in the channel beyond "millions of dollars," he said he expects it will be profitable within three years.
With all of its other cable and broadcast assets, including MTV, CBS, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, Viacom also will have a lot of leverage to persuade cable and satellite firms to carry Logo. Viacom won't face much competition for this genre. Canada has a gay-themed channel called PrideVision TV that is trying to launch in the U.S. A gay channel called Here, based in Los Angeles, also is trying to make a mark.
Parents Television Council, a conservative media watchdog, said it is concerned, not so much because of who the Logo channel is targeting but rather who is behind it. "MTV targets very young viewers and they're very irresponsible in their treatments of sexual situations, and I do have concerns about the themes and messages they would be conveying to viewers on this kind of a network," said Melissa Caldwell, director of research at the Parents Television Council.
"We know some people are uncomfortable with the concept of the gay and lesbian community, period," Mr. Freston said. "However, it is fair to say it has reached a level in the last several years of being increasingly mainstream."
Initially, the channel will relay heavily on acquired programming, including movies such as "Gods & Monsters" and "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Ms. McGrath said Logo has 40 concepts for original programs in development.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
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