Q Television Will Offer Gay and Lesbian Programming

Posted on June 4, 2004

Q Television Network, headquartered in California, has announced it will launch a subscriber channel for the gay and lesbian community in July 2004. An industry soft launch for carriers and advertisers began June 1, 2004. The network is available for viewing on Intelsat America's 7, 129 degrees West, Channel 1. The network will broadcast 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Q Television will not be without competition. Q's annoucement comes just as MTV Networks announced it would soon be launching LOGO, a gay and lesbian cable network, in February, 2005.

In a pre-public move to preview a sample of its programming to cable and satellite industry professionals, as well as potential advertisers, Q Television Network will offer a compressed daily broadcast that includes featured programs.

Executive vice president Steven Grunberg said, "This is built by and for the gay community. Rather than a smattering of stereotyped gay characters offered because current market projections indicate it would be profitable, we offer a channel that will unite the gay and lesbian audience through a network that educates, entertains and informs - a network of real value."

Q Television president and chairman Frank Olsen, an entrepreneur with a significant background in broadcast, was instrumental in the launch of The Movie Channel prior to its acquisition by Showtime. A pioneer in the development of new radio broadcast formats throughout his 40-year career, Olsen helped create African American radio and started the first gay radio stations.

"Just as CNN had tremendous hurdles to overcome, Frank and Q Television Network have had an uphill battle in the launch of Q Television," said CFO Rene Schenk. "Q Television is positioned to successfully meet the demand that exists for a gay family channel."

Q Television Network will offer a combination of original and acquired programming, which includes sports, fashion, travel, health & fitness, talk shows, plays, documentaries and movies. Teams of producers and directors will also bring breaking stories of interest to the network's audience via access to bureaus in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Paris, Moscow, Jerusalem and Iraq.

A preview of original programming premiered in May at the National Cable & Telecommunication Association's annual industry conference and was also included in a successful five-hour sample broadcast on May 15, which aired on Cox Cable in Louisiana and Comcast in the Puget Sound Region. Included in that preview was I Will, I Do, We Did, an original Q Television documentary exploring gay and lesbian marriage in America that offers an inside glimpse of the challenges faced by this community. Independent films, such as An Intimate Friendship and Straightman, are other examples of what will be available on the network, as well as commercial fare such as Bette Midler's "Divine Madness" concert.