Gay TV network struggles to survive
Larry Buhl, PlanetOut Network
published Monday, February 13, 2006
The beleaguered Q Television Network, which owes a month's pay to more than 100 laid-off workers, is still on the air, though with a smaller staff and a revamped lineup, a network executive said Monday.
Citing cash-flow problems, the network, one of three cable channels for gay men and lesbians, laid off nearly its entire production staff Feb. 1 and halted production for more than a week. On Monday, Q's live programming was gearing up to produce four hours of live programming per night, though with a skeletal production crew.
"No shows are totally cancelled," Scott Withers, vice president of live programming, told the PlanetOut Network. "We are now trying to determine how to retool our existing shows so that more viewers will tune in."
Withers would not comment on the nature of the network's financial woes, but emphasized that "reports of Q's demise have been extremely exaggerated."
However, Withers would not say when -- or if -- it would bring back all laid-off workers, nor when they would be paid.
Q Television Network, available to 3 million cable subscribers in several cities, started operations in Texas in 2004 and moved its production facilities to Burbank, Calif., in 2005. It still is not available in many major markets.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday that the network's board of directors told the staff that an investor and his family with a large amount of money in the network were not able to continue financially supporting Q Television. An e-mail obtained by the Chronicle told the network's staff that it was working with backup investors to make payroll.
In addition to not meeting payroll, the network is being sued by a San Francisco lesbian magazine, Girlfriends, for not paying its advertising bills for six months.
"I thought the network was a lot more solid than it really was," said Vanessa Meyer, a graphics generator who was laid off with more than 100 other production staffers Feb. 1. "Their subscription base is really low, and they're only in a handful of cities."
Without jobs for two weeks -- and without being paid for a month of work -- employees decided not to wait for the unnamed investor to come through and instead filed a petition with state labor officials, according to Meyer. "The labor board told them that they can't hire anyone back until they pay us for the month of January, and they're watching (the network) very closely," Meyer said.
Chris Flynn, a technical director for Q Television, was one of a handful of laid-off workers asked to come back to help get network programming up and running. With a check for January's work, Flynn agreed to return on a freelance basis, but is waiting to see if Q makes good on its word that other employees will be paid soon.
"I'm taking them on their word that by the end of the week everyone will receive their back pay," Flynn told the PlanetOut Network. "If that doesn't happen, then I will leave."
"We were a very close-knit staff, and that's why when this happens you end up feeling betrayed," Flynn said. "It's more than just not getting your paycheck."
Some, like Meyer, say they feel burned by the network and may not go back under any circumstances.
"A lot of us just want our money now," Meyer said. "It is unfair to treat employees like this. I don't know who will be working (for the network) in the future because its name is sullied. For them to preach LGBT pride and then to do this to us, it sends a terrible mixed message."
gay.com
. |
