Canadian gay network eyes U.S.

Canadian gay
network eyes U.S.

PrideVision sees rich, untapped cable market

By Lisa Scherzer

   PrideVision TV, having come out of the closet up in Canada, is coming to the U.S.
   From gardening to antiquing to animals, there’s a cable channel to suit nearly every taste and interest, no matter how specific.
   So it was only a matter of time before a 24-hour gay television channel made its way onto the U.S. airwaves.
   PrideVision, based in Toronto, hopes to be the first.
   PrideVision TV, the world’s first Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender network, as it calls itself, launched in September 2001 in Canada and is hoping to cross the border this year and fill what it sees as an underserved and untapped niche in American cable programming.
   A small cable network with a specific focus can be a lucrative marketing opportunity, and with the proliferation of gay-oriented media – including web sites (PlanetOut.com) and magazines (The Advocate, Out) – a channel targeted at the gay demographic seems like the logical next step.
   PrideVision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Headline Media Group, will exhibit for the first time this year at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association Convention next month in New Orleans. There the network will showcase its programming to the cable industry in a bid to secure carriage in the U.S.
   But even if PrideVision gains significant carriage, it will still face formidable competition from cable heavyweights MTV and Showtime, two Viacom-owned channels that are planning to launch their own gay cable networks in the near future.
   Advertisers and marketers are eager to reach out to gay consumers, since they’re known to have a relatively higher disposable income than the rest of the population (gays generally have 10 percent more disposable income than the average American).
   Since its launch last fall, PrideVision has signed on some big-name companies as advertisers, including Pepsi, AT&T and Microsoft.
   PrideVision’s programming covers a broad range of topics, including health, politics, current events, finance and sex.
   One show, "UnderCovers," is a weekly call-in show about relationship and sex issues in which questions from the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community are answered by experts.
   Another is "Locker Room," described as a "saucy comedy show offering a half-hour look at the world of sports from a brand new perspective. A really gay one! Locker Room bashes down the barriers between sports arenas and gay bars. Who knew they were so close?"
   PrideVision was offered as a free premium channel for the first three months after launch. Since the end of February it has signed on approximately 18,000 subscribers, and it hopes to reach 32,000-35,000 subscribers when its fiscal year ends in August.
   Not too long ago, a gay character on a television show would have been considered taboo or distasteful to most audiences. But attitudes have changed dramatically in the past few years, especially considering the controversy generated by Ellen DeGeneres’s much-hyped "coming out" episode on her sitcom in 1997.
   Today, programs with gay themes or characters such as "Will & Grace" and "Queer as Folk" have not only achieved mainstream acceptability, but have also gained mass appeal, making a network entirely devoted to gay matters – at least in the eyes of executives – a promising venture.

-Lisa Scherzer is a staff writer for Media Life.

Printer-Friendly Version | Send to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact Us