Sun. Nov. 20, 2005
Airwaves open in the name of diversity
by Wendy Butler, 11/20/2005
The network was designed to give a platform to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
On Tuesday, Cox Communications’ Eureka/Arcata digital cable customers will be given the opportunity to subscribe to Q Television Network on digital premium channel 399.
This will be the only GLBT network carried in the region by Cox and it marks QTN’s first Cox distribution.
Frank Olsen founded Burbank-based, nationally distributed QTN just over a year ago.
“Our founder and CEO just really believed there should be a television network that truly was the voice of the gay community,” Affiliate Sales and Marketing vice president Carol Hinnant said.
She said QTN’s programming is different than other comparable networks, such as the movie channel here! or Logo, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks division.
QTV airs sports, information and entertainment shows. About 65 percent of the network’s programming is original and the remainder is acquired from other sources.
“We don’t think that cable television or broadcast television has truly serviced the community in the past,” Hinnant said. “We’re kind of on a unique mission.”
Original daily programming includes “Brunch,” a live morning daily talk show created specifically for the GLBT and gay-friendly progressive community.
It is part talk show and part sitcom and hosted by Honey Labrador of “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” and Scott Withers.
QTV offers five hours of live programming every day.
Network producers often go out into communities to cover events of regional or national significance and, using a talk show format, highlight those communities.
“We do give a voice to the gay community (and) we give air time to gay talents from a news perspective and from an entertainment perspective,” Hinnant said.
She said that the opportunity to launch QTV in Humboldt County came as a result of a Cox representative phoning the network.
She said a Cox corporate network affiliation agreement had previously been signed, which didn’t guarantee any Cox distribution.
Cory Sher, director of QTV’s Western Division Affiliate Sales and Marketing, traveled to Humboldt County to discuss the viability of offering QTV.
One of the people contacted was Todd Larsen, who, along with his partner Michael Weiss, operates the Web site queerhumboldt.org.
Larsen feels that QTV’s programs will make the gay community seem more real to a wider audience, rather than “this crazy isolated community.”
“They are going to provide entertainment, movies, politics (and) news,” Larsen said. “You’ll meet people in the gay community (who) are much more closeted (and it) helps them come out in life and not have to be so closeted.”
Cox Communications Marketing and Public Affairs director Wendy Purnell said that Cox felt it was important to include QTV in its lineup.
“Cox embraces diversity,” she said. “We feel it’s important to offer programming which appeals to the entire community.”
However, Cox was concerned that some residents might not want to turn on their TVs and have QTV there.
QTV is a premium service which will cost individual subscribers $10 each month.
Cox had originally planned to launch QTV in its New Orleans-area system, but Hurricane Katrina caused a change in plans.
The Eureka/Arcata system covers approximately 52,000 households and provides to about 32,000 of those, Purnell said.
Cox will pay QTV based on the number of new subscribers and that number will dictate whether Cox will continue to offer the network.
“Based on the number of phone calls that we’ve been receiving, I believe the service will do very well in this market,” she said.
Cox recently announced that it had reached a definitive agreement with Cebridge Connections Inc., a company managed by Cequel III LLC, for the purchase of Cox cable television systems serving approximately 940,000 basic cable subscribers, including those in Humboldt County.
Purnell said the sale, due to close the second quarter of next year, should not affect the decision to carry QTV.
“We don’t anticipate any changes in programming at this point in time,” she said.
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