What's your opinion: WILL DISH SERVE UP GAY TV? A COURTROOM MAY HAVE TO DECIDE
News Analysis by Crusader
Exclusive to metroG.com
PALM SPRINGS, CA (January 26, 2001) -- The lavish 12,000 square foot corporate offices of Co-Media, Inc. and Triangle Multi-Media Ltd are filled with promotional materials for what was to be the premiere of gay television programming exclusive to Dish Satellite Network beginning February 2. Co-Media and Triangle claims they have invested approximately $7 million in money and commitments to develop Gay Television Network (GTN), which was to provide a very large number of gay and lesbian programs for Dish. Dish is owned by EchoStar Communications Corporation, whose corporate offices are based in Colorado. Triangle Broadcasting (an arm of Triangle Multi-Media) currently produces gay radio programming on the Internet from their Palm Springs studio.
On January 16, Co-Media announced in a PRNewswire press release that GTN programming would be aired exclusively with Dish, and provided details about how consumers can take advantage of a $19.95 per month promotion that includes the dish and free installation. The promotion is also featured on GTN's website (Gay Television Network), and in advertisements placed in 77 gay-oriented publications throughout the nation. According to spokespersons for Co-Media and Triangle, the ads in question were reviewed and approved by Dish prior to publication.
Shortly after the Co-Media press release was issued, however, it became unclear whether or not GTN would ever see the light of day on Dish. According to a January 19 Multichannel News story (via tvinsite.com ) a Dish spokesperson denied the ''gay TV deal.'' When metroG attempted to access the GTN website that weekend, we received the following message: ''The Gay Television Network Website will Be Down Until Tuesday January 30th for database configuration and server upgrades.'' During that same weekend, GTN's corporate voice mail system must have been inundated with inquiries and crashed, because several attempts to its corporate numbers over the weekend resulted in a few rings followed by dead silence.
metroG finally caught up with Triangle Media CEO Frank Olsen on January 25 via telephone, who confirmed that a contract had been signed. ''They got cold feet,'' he said. ''They came to us to have us air programs. They approved our ads, and then all of the sudden when our press release came out, they then denied they had a contract with us.''
Olsen said that the reason web surfers could not access the GTN website on the weekend of the 19th was because Dish had ''asked us to take the site down,'' even though all parties involved are said to have entered into a $360,000 per month contract. GTN (Gay Television Network) is back up on the net and was fully operational at the time this article was written. Olsen said that Dish was apparently upset after MSNBC ran a headline stating that Dish would ''serve up gay TV.'' Dish also asked for an apology from Co-Media for mentioning Dish in a press release. Gary Goldman, corporate attorney for Co-Media, told metroG, ''We wrote them [Dish] a letter of apology, at their request, apologizing for releasing the [January 16] press release without getting their approval on it.''
After playing telephone tag with Dish's media relations department for two days, I finally got what amounted to a ''no comment'' from spokesperson Mark Lumkin on January 26. When I asked him for a comment about ''the gay television programming controversy,'' Lumkin said he had no idea what I was talking about. When I specifically mentioned GTN, Co-Media, and Triangle by name, he vehemently denied that Dish had a written contract with the entities in question, and refused to confirm or deny that they now are in or have ever been in negotiations with GTN, Co-Media, or Triangle Multi-Media regarding such programming. ''When we launch a new channel, we enter into negotiations with the program designers, enter into an agreement, and put out our own press release,'' he said. When asked to comment about GTN's ads in gay publicatins, Lumkin said, ''We never approved [GTN] ads for the gay media.''
So, what inquiring minds want to know: Is this some sort of scam operating out of a boiler room with a post office box? Why is a multi-billion dollar satellite company denying any involvement with gay television programming?
After spending more than an hour touring GTN, and speaking with the main players in an informal setting on January 26, I can unequivocally state that this not only appears to be a legitimate venture, but that once this programming gets on-the-air, it is going to put a face on gay-related programming that will rock the world!
Upon entering the corporate office, located near downtown Palm Springs, I observed a Dish banner over the reception area, which GTN spokespersons say was provided to them by Dish. While waiting in the reception area for the grand tour, I leafed through the current issue of Expressions (EXP) Magazine (based in Missouri) and noticed a full-page advertisement for GTN: ''Gay-TV is Out of the Closet! Subscribe now to the first and only Gay-TV Channel...'' Moments later, I was greeted by GTN founder Frank Olsen, who literally dropped everything he was doing to give me a complete tour of the offices and studios. (For all trivia buffs: the studio was once the home of ''The Morton Downey Jr. Show.'') If this is a scam operating out of boiler room, then these folks deserve an Oscar. After the tour, I interviewed Olsen, Marvin Jenkins, president and CEO of Co-Media, and their corporate attorney, Gary Goldman.
Goldman confirmed the contract with Dish. ''We have a written contract to distribute Dish [satellite] dishes to the gay community, and it is signed,'' he said. ''We have a contract to go on the network, which has been modified several times at their request. It has been signed by us...They have changed the terms, in writing, on several occasions. The latest was a couple of days ago, after their press release denying they had a contract with us.'' (During my brief conversation with Dish's Lumkin earlier in the day, he categorically denied that Dish ever issued a press release denying the GTN contract.)
Jenkins provided metroG with compelling evidence of a contractual relationship between EchoStar and Co-Media. He explained that in the original ad submitted to EchoStar for their review, the Dish logo was in blue and ''we were instructed to change it to red.''
Jenkins also said that Randy Bowman, the regional sales manager for EchoStar, came to Palm Springs on October 3, 2000 and gave a training session at GTN studios for all GTN employees. The purpose of the training session was to explain to employees the policies and procedures for selling subscriptions to the Dish Satellite Network. Jenkins said they have the training sessions on video tape to utilize for new employees. Goldman said that some employees were even sent to a Dish training program in Sacramento, California in November.
In a November 28 letter addressed to Co-Media, EchoStar's senior vice president of the satellite division states: ''EchoStar looks forward to a business relationship with Co-media (sic) that will continue long past the term of this initial Agreement...Again, EchoStar looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship with Co-media (sic).'' That certainly does not sound like a company without a contract.
On December 1, at EchoStar's invitation, Jason Shearouse, vice president of marketing for GTN, gave a presentation in Sacramento to Dish's West Coast distributors. This presentation, according to Jenkins, was also video taped. On January 11, 2001, EchoStar's Bowman is said to have come to GTN's offices for ''an update on our programming and GTN issued him a check made payable to EchoStar,'' Jenkins said. On that same date, according to Jenkins, Michael Schwimmer, vice president of programming for EchoStar, spoke with Triangle's Olsen to ''officially welcome GTN to Dish's family schedule.''
Olsen described a variety of gay-related programming on GTN to metroG, including a ''Gay Court'' program. GTN spokespersons said it will be similar to ''Judge Judy,'' but will focus on the unique issues that gays and lesbians face in every day life. Will the first ''Gay Court'' program be the case of Co-Media, Inc. v. EchoStar Communications Corporation? ''There will be a lawsuit launched next week if they [EchoStar] do not comply with the terms of the deal,'' said GTN attorney Goldman. He said that Co-Media and Triangle would seek $300 to $400 million in damages in a California federal court. Goldman said that as a result of Dish denying the gay TV deal, GTN has ''lost credibility in the gay community, and it is costing us a lot of money in terms of [losing] customers.'' He said that GTN is doing everything possible to negotiate the current matter without going to court.
metroG is committed to keeping its readers apprised of any new developments with this story.
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