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MTV to Start First Network Aimed at Gays

Quote:

May 26, 2004
ADVERTISING
MTV to Start First Network Aimed at Gays
By BILL CARTER and STUART ELLIOTT
link

MTV Networks announced yesterday that, after a long delay, it intended next February to start the first cable television channel directed at gay viewers. But beyond the typical challenges facing new cable networks of finding distribution and advertisers, the new channel, to be called Logo, will have one unusual obstacle: outrage from conservative groups.

The Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, the head of the Traditional Values Coalition, said Logo was "bad news for American families" that would lead to moral anarchy, and that he had called heads of other religious groups in an effort to mount a boycott of all advertisers who sponsor the channel.

"Madison Avenue has gone amok," Mr. Sheldon said. "They don't realize they've awakened the sleeping giant."

Tom Freston, the chairman of MTV Networks, the division of Viacom that will run Logo, said company executives understood that some people were uncomfortable with gay men and lesbians. But he cited polls that he said indicated increasing levels of tolerance and acceptability for gay people. "We don't expect any huge backlash," Mr. Freston said.

"We are very proud that we are launching this bold new network," which he said was aimed at "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers." He emphasized that the channel would be based in entertainment and not "sex and sexuality."

The channel, in the works for more than two years, comes as both broadcast and cable networks have enjoyed success with gay-themed programming, ranging from "Will & Grace'' on NBC to "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy'' on Bravo.

And it is intended to reach a segment of the population that is desirable to many advertisers because of its more than $400 billion in buying power, MTV executives said in a telephone news conference.

It was only a decade ago when the automaker Saab aimed ads at gay men and lesbians by buying space in the magazines Genre and Out, but many advertisers have been reluctant to enter the market. Still, mainstream marketers - including American Airlines, American Express, Anheuser-Busch, General Motors and Levi Strauss - increasingly seek ways to reach gay and lesbian consumers with product pitches.

"We think the gay market's a large, brand-loyal and affluent market, and that's a good match for a high-end car-rental brand," said Ted Deutsch, a spokesman for Avis Rent a Car in New York, part of the Cendant Corporation. Avis is one company that Viacom is in discussions with to become an advertiser on Logo, which Mr. Deutsch called "a very interesting initiative."

Orbitz, the online travel agency, has already made commitments to buy commercial time on Logo.

The group president of MTV Networks, Judy McGrath, said detailed program announcements for Logo would be made in July, but that original fare would initially make up 25 percent of the total with the rest being movies and reruns of series.

More than 100 movies have already been acquired, she said, including "Gods and Monsters," "Birdcage," "Love, Valor, Compassion" and "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"

Mr. Freston said the channel was not about politics and took pains to assure that MTV was not taking advantage of the current controversy about gay marriage.

"Truthfully, our timing is really just pure coincidence," Mr. Freston said, "and not part of a grand strategy to ride down the aisle with all these many happy couples."

Still, the same opposition trying to block gay marriage may mobilize against the channel. Mike Haley, a manager of gender issues with the Christian group Focus on the Family, said he worried that the network would encourage young people to think of themselves as gay, just as he said he did for 12 years.

"You have a kid who is looking to fit in, and here you have a network that looks very inviting, very accepting, and this young kid is going to get a false representation of what homosexuality has to offer," Mr. Haley said. "I really am sad and fearful for these kids who are going to want to be as happy and as happy-go-lucky as Will is on 'Will & Grace.' "

MTV has shifted its original plan, announced in January 2002, which had been to make the channel a joint venture with the pay channel Showtime - like MTV Networks owned by Viacom - and to charge viewers a monthly subscription fee. Now the channel will be part of the basic cable lineup, though on the digital tier of channels.

"We're looking to be at 10 to 14 million homes by the end of the first year," said Nicole Browning, the president of affiliate sales for MTV Networks. The channel will charge cable systems an undisclosed fee for each subscriber, she said.

She noted that as much as a third of the channel's target audience was concentrated in the country's biggest cities. Logo has received orders from cable systems serving Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Mr. Freston said the company would sell advertising packages across its cable properties and "cross-promote where appropriate" to help build the channel. And Ms. McGrath said certain programs from several other MTV channels could wind up being used on Logo. Among the ideas she mentioned were a history of gay television done by the channel TV Land, and the "Gay 100" music selections from VH-1.

She also said Logo expected to tap the resources of another sister unit under Viacom, CBS News, for documentary and other types of news programming.

While some advertisers have been reluctant to enter the market, fearful of the very sort of boycott conservative activists are now threatening, others are worried about the dearth of reliable data about the market. For instance, though MTV executives cited statistics about the gay population, estimates of the size and spending power of the market vary widely because many people are reluctant to identify themselves as gay to pollsters or researchers.

Orbitz, for example, wanted to reach large numbers of gay men and lesbians to tell them about gay-related content on its Web site, said Jeffrey Marsh, the company's advertising director, but was stymied because there has been no place to "get a million-plus targeted eyeballs."

Howard Buford, chief executive of Prime Access in New York, an agency that creates ads aimed at minority groups for marketers like J. P. Morgan Chase, Ford Motor and Merck, said: "If you go on a 'Will & Grace,' you have to pay the high Thursday-night prices to reach some gay men and lesbians along with a huge number of heterosexuals.''

The availability of Logo "will allow for many advertisers to now include TV media in their budgets," said Travis Pagel, managing director of Osmosis Medialab in New York, an agency specializing in marketing to gay men and lesbians. The agency numbers among its clients BMG, Casio and HBO.

But Logo will encounter some advertising challenges. John Nash, president of Moon City Productions in New York, the gay and lesbian agency of record for Subaru of America, said "if budgets remain the same, advertisers may end up borrowing from Peter to pay Paul" - in other words, shifting money to TV from print and online, where most gay-targeted advertising has been spent.

Those advertisers reluctant to do that may not make the foray onto Logo.

IMHO this took way too long to get together, but with the rumblings of a competitor about to make a similar launch MTV Networks needed to finally put this stuff down and make it happen.

While it may not be my niche to watch like WE, Lifetime, or Oxygen, I do find some programming on the 3 women channels interesting enough to tune in once in a while. Not to mention Tivo does a great job of harvesting even from other channels that I would never watch like Hallmark Channel.

Do any of you out there see any adverstiser backlash?

IMO MTV can afford to support this channel with little to no advertising for at least 1-2 years minimum until there is enough subscribers to truly warrant aggressive advertsing goals. But MTV Networks Ad Sales is also shrewd enough to help guide can coax advertisers to advertise on the fledgling network.

Maybe from the more conservative companies. All in all they shouldn't see much backlash. Afterall, long as they can make money, that is what matters to advertisers.
Truthfully, I'm suprised it took this long. I remember seeing an article a few months ago on how various companies are tapping into the so called "gay market". They were estimating that it could be a multi millon to a billion dollar untapped market.

FWIW Showtime (another Viacom company) was going to launch this, and it was worked on almost 2 years ago. It was shifted to MTV Networks since it's more in line with their business model not Showtime's.

Well, in Canada, we've had a gay and lesbian network for around 2.5 years now, pridevision.
http://www.pridevisiontv.com
Hasn't had to many issues as far as I know, a bit of a fuss when it started, but otherwise nothing at all, the major providers all carry it as an extra channel.
Of course not sure how a lot of these specialty channels stay on the air.

Back in the UK they call it 'The Pink Pound'. Gays and Lesbians generally have more disposable income than us breeders - makes a fine target for advertisers.

I think this is a great idea. I don't know if it will survive or not. But I do know this. Their slogan should definitely be "The Gayest Channel Ever."

They will definitely have tons of advertising backlash....but advertisers see a rise in sales after airing their commercials on LEGO, you can bet that the backlash will end. Because the bottom line is always about money.

I'm not gay, and I will definitely check out this channel if my cable company picks it up, to the same extent I check out any of the "niche" channels. (Not saying that being gay is a niche, but you know what I mean.)

Quote:

"We're looking to be at 10 to 14 million homes by the end of the first year," said Nicole Browning, the president of affiliate sales for MTV Networks. The channel will charge cable systems an undisclosed fee for each subscriber, she said.

I thought that less than 5% of the population was gay. Therefore, are they really thinking that they are going to get almost all of the gay population? If this channel is going to suceed, they are going to need a lot of support from us breeders and I don't see a lot of us turning from our shows that we already watch to see gay oriented shows.

If it was a channel included in the lineups, you might get some support from straight people but I don't see straight people paying a subscription fee to see a gay channel that has commercials on top of subscription fees.

I think it's going to bomb.

Quote:

Originally posted by kutulu
. If it was a channel included in the lineups, you might get some support from straight people but I don't see straight people paying a subscription fee to see a gay channel that has commercials on top of subscription fees.

I think it's going to bomb.

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Now the channel will be part of the basic cable lineup, though on the digital tier of channels.

the rest of the MTV Channels can support it, it doesn't cost much to repackage items and lease shows. Well worth the work for the advertising dollar.

kutulu, it isn't a pay channel like Showtime. What they mean is each subscriber that gets digital cable pays a small amount, usually 15-20 cents a month for the channel whether they watch it or not. 10-14 million homes just means how many cable companies pick it up and deliver it to their viewers, not how many actually watch it.
Whether it succeeds or not depends heavily on how many cable companies pick it up.

I missed that part. I skimmed the article and didn't see that.

It also depends on how many people are actually going to watch it. If only 10-14 million homes have access to it they are not going to do well. With less than 1 million of those homes having gay poeple in them and the straight people finding out that being gay isn't all about Will and Grace or Queer Eye, I just don't see it working.

I thought Bravo already catered towards gays. They do ok, but they aren't trying to put a target on themselves by calling themselves the gay channel.

Quote:

Originally posted by kutulu
I missed that part. I skimmed the article and didn't see that.

It also depends on how many people are actually going to watch it. If only 10-14 million homes have access to it they are not going to do well. With less than 1 million of those homes having gay poeple in them and the straight people finding out that being gay isn't all about Will and Grace or Queer Eye, I just don't see it working.

I thought Bravo already catered towards gays. They do ok, but they aren't trying to put a target on themselves by calling themselves the gay channel.

Bravo only recently started targeting that market when Jef Gaspin took the helm and he's an MTV Alumni. I worked with him for many years.

MTV Networks base idea is to conquer the niche market. Looking at their stable of channels you'll see that there are plenty of niches that don't have lots of millions of viewers but enter into tens of millions of households, and it's the synergy that they are trying to capture.

https://www.mtvn.com

I thought that's what Lifetime was?

My question is how many viewers do you need for a network to be sucessfull? If 14 million homes have the channel, how many viewers can they expect when they are competing with the major networks and 200 other established cable networks that already have their viewers?

using this as an example from broadcast TV the double digit number is the nielsen share rating the second number the millions of viewers.

1 CSI CBS 16.2 25,401,000
2 CSI: Miami CBS 14.7 23,077,000
3 American Idol - Tuesday FOX 14.3 23,612,000
4 American Idol - Wednesday FOX 13.3 22,415,000
5 Without A Trace CBS 12.9 19,616,000
6 Law And Order NBC 12.8 19,459,000
7 Law And Order: SVU NBC 12.2 18,361,000
8 Everybody Loves Raymond CBS 10.5 16,066,000
9 Two And A Half Men CBS 9.9 15,202,000
10 Law And Order: SVU (5/18(S) NBC 9.8 14,670,000
http://www.nielsenmedia.com/ratings/..._programs.html

Quote:

about a particular individual who helped grow Comedy Central
After squandering his youth and 11 formative years at MTV, he left as Executive Vice President of Programming, for the chance to develop Comedy Central and launch "South Park," "The Daily Show" and "Win Ben Stein's Money," among others. From '95 to '98, he attracted some of the best emerging and established comedy talent, grew the audience for 14 straight quarters, and helped the channel achieve 57 million homes.

and maybe this will help from the internal propaganda that they send us... it really doesn't take all that much.

http://img46.photobucket.com/albums/.../joe_schmo.jpg

M = MALE and A = Adult

Canada has had a gay channel for 2.5 years (see above).

American divoce rate: 0.4 divorces for every 100 people in the USA.
Canadian divorce rate: 0.26 divorces for every 100 people in Canada.

(the real trick is, Canada is full of homosexuals who choose not to get married, even though it is legal, and rather live a fabulous fun filled life of fucking frolicking.)

Ahum.

Yeah this is gonna be interesting. I can guarantee that there are going to be Bible thumper picketers in front of MTV when the channel airs or even before. I remember a few years back that there were picketers in front of MTV and that was just when they had a show with gay themes that they were airing.

I fail to see the reason why every ethinic/racial/sexual group needs their own channel. Especially since, as it says, this is merely an entertainment channel, and doesnt intend to talk about their orientation.

Quote:

Originally posted by Gjefflin
Yeah this is gonna be interesting. I can guarantee that there are going to be Bible thumper picketers in front of MTV when the channel airs or even before. I remember a few years back that there were picketers in front of MTV and that was just when they had a show with gay themes that they were airing.

oh thanks for reminding me of that... I'll have to look for those pictures.

Just let me know what channel # it is so I can program it out of my cable box along with MTV & MTV2.

Almost forgot about Lifetime and the Oxygen channel. http://www.boomspeed.com/sixate/icon_rolleyes.gif

Quote:

Originally posted by sixate
Just let me know what channel # it is so I can program it out of my cable box along with MTV & MTV2.

a man who uses the technology to his advantage. I never see the homeshopping network, nor any of the spanish stations anymore either. :)

Quote:

Originally posted by sixate
Just let me know what channel # it is so I can program it out of my cable box along with MTV & MTV2.

Almost forgot about Lifetime and the Oxygen channel. http://www.boomspeed.com/sixate/icon_rolleyes.gif

I just hate that I have to pay for these channels that I don't even watch. I bet there is about 15 bucks a month on my cable bill for channels I don't watch.

Quote:

Originally posted by crazybill5280
I just hate that I have to pay for these channels that I don't even watch. I bet there is about 15 bucks a month on my cable bill for channels I don't watch.

don't know if you know this but ESPN is the most expensive of the channels about $2.00 of your cable bill goes to ESPN. I don't watch sports so to me it's a waste, but because of bundling and lack of real true ala carte service it's "cheaper to buy the bundle"

just like the phone stuff. I don't have call waiting on my phone? why because it's $2 more. If it's busy, people call my cellphone.

I've been trying to figure out how to get the ala carte service to work in my favor but it doesn't. sucks.

This may be the opportunity to bring this up in a non-political context. My observation is more of a cultural than a political one.

As witnessed by the recent threats against Madonna and her family by Palestinian terrorists, I sense a disconnect between the culturally liberative forces in the Free World that champion the freedom of expression to actively promote, on a global basis, the very cultural values that cause the Islamo-fascist world to hate us and pledge itself to the cause of our destruction and the awareness of those forces of cultural liberation as regards what is necessary in a strategic way to actually secure and defend those values against their sworn enemies.

What kind of TV shows are gonna be on this channel?

Quote:

Originally posted by sailor
I fail to see the reason why every ethinic/racial/sexual group needs their own channel.

There you have it...my opinion in the words of sailor.

As for the above - understandable - objections, the answer is actually part of the theory of contemporary programming:

See "Narrowcasting"

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/...rowcasting.htm

Quote:

Originally posted by sailor
I fail to see the reason why every ethinic/racial/sexual group needs their own channel. Especially since, as it says, this is merely an entertainment channel, and doesnt intend to talk about their orientation.

Well, if there's BET then I guess GAYTV should work. Although BET has plenty of information that supports the black community which I guess is different from GAYTV. But if there's a big enough market out there for each group, I see nothing wrong with them having their own channel as long as it's not thrust upon everybody($$$).

As long as they don't call it a "channel". That word has traditionally only referred to heterocentric programming.;)

Well it will obviously have a lot of people whining. As for me it will just end up another blocked channel on my TV like lifetime or bravo... I could honestly careless about another channel, I only watch about 5 channels anyways. It is easier just to ignore things I don't like because then they don't bother me. This therory works for everything work, school, my sister...

Quote:

Originally posted by ARTelevision
As for the above - understandable - objections, the answer is actually part of the theory of contemporary programming:

See "Narrowcasting"

http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/N/...rowcasting.htm

right on art.

as you could see from the joe schmoe example it doesn't take much to be #1 in the demographic.

a 2.0 share is considered a hit. In fact I believe that MTV's highest share ever was 9.0 and that was for the Video Music Awards it's BIGGEST show of the year.

the cable companies all fight over just a few hundred thousand people, but understanding that MTV Networks has many channels to spread out it's advertisers it has better leverage than say Oxygen which is a sole channel.

How silly. Hopefully they will suck up the ridiculous stereotypical homosexual-oriented programming off of the non-cable networks and consolidate it to one awful channel.

Quote:

Originally posted by seretogis
How silly. Hopefully they will suck up the ridiculous stereotypical homosexual-oriented programming off of the non-cable networks and consolidate it to one awful channel.

actually the reverse has proven to happen. Broadcasters are taking cues from the cable niches and bringing those items that are popular into the mainstream.

All the reality TV stuff started with the popularity of MTV's Real World. Queer Eye from Bravo, aired on NBC to high ratings.

An email just arrived in my inbox and I thought I'd add it to my journal since I've been horribly neglectful in putting up information about my experiences here at the office. One of the reasons is making sure that I'm not "accidentally" divulging company secrets and such. The other is because I plain forget about it. This is a really big deal which is something that I'm glad to be a part of. I helped launch TVLand and MTV2 when I first came to MTV Networks in 1996.

http://img46.photobucket.com/albums/...q/LOGO_low.jpg

Click here to download the LOGO Announcement Promo (174MB) edit: (you must right click save as)

FAQ
LOGO Q&A
LOGO - See it come to life. Watch our Announcement Promo now!

1. When will LOGO launch?
2. Why announce the launch now?
3. How did you choose the name and what does it stand for?
4. What will be the mix between original and acquired programming?
5. Can you give us a sense of any acquisitions or original programming concepts in the works?
6. The LGBT audience is so diverse, who specifically, will you program to?
7. What markets will you launch in?
8. How can I get the channel?
9. Who will advertise on the channel?
10. How can I submit an idea for original programming to LOGO?

Q: When will LOGO launch?
February 17, 2005

Q: Why announce the launch now?
We feel this is the right time to launch this channel for a number of reasons.
Most important, we think we now have the right positioning, branding and people in place to make this new channel work and serve the audience in the best way.
Market conditions are also much more favorable today than they were a couple years ago when we first started working on this idea.
MTV Networks and Viacom are in great shape to invest in a new cable network.

Q: How did you choose the name and what does it stand for?
The name LOGO appeals to a broad range of viewers and signifies the many meanings of identity.
Our vision is to always reflect the diversity of the LGBT experience.
The name is not an obvious pun or play on words; it's not clichëd or dated as could have easily been by using well known symbols.
'Different Together' represents how the LGBT community is amazingly diverse, but joined by similar points of view, experiences and sensibilities.
We created the name and branding in-house.
We have a dual use agreement with the trademark holder and we do not foresee any conflict, as it's used only for business to business.
We had a range of other names, one of which regrettably leaked even after we had ruled it out.

Q: What will be the mix between original and acquired programming?
In its initial phase, we are planning to have 75% acquired/licensed programming and 25% original series and specials.
As the network matures, we expect to increase the amount of original programming we air as well as work with our sister networks at MTVN to create joint programming.
As LOGO matures, its voice will be refined. We expect this network to constantly grow and become better and better at reflecting its audience.

Q: Can you give us a sense of any acquisitions or original programming concepts in the works?
At this time, we are not announcing any specifics about programming. We plan to give a complete look at our programming at The TV Critics Association meeting in July.
We are in active development on over 40 original concepts as well as including programming developed jointly with our sister networks - MTV, VH1, TV Land, CMT, and Comedy Central as well as Showtime and CBS News in the Viacom family.
In addition, we have deals in place to acquire programming from a wide range of studios including Sony, Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, Lion's Gate, Showtime, The Sundance Channel and Strand Releasing.
Among the 100 titles include: Gods & Monsters; Serving in Silence (Glenn Close & Barbara Streisand project); Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

Q: The LGBT audience is so diverse, who specifically, will you program to?
We are seeking to program LOGO for the entire, diverse LGBT audience and the friends and family who love them.
Our goal is to create a home for our viewers.
We will reflect the full range of perspectives and opinions on the many issues that face the gay and lesbian communities.
Having a 24/7 network means a lot of programming hours to fill - so we plan to have something for everyone.
All television networks have targeted sweet spots and ours would be LGBT viewers from 25-49.

Q: What markets will you launch in?
Our goal is to be everywhere, because the gay and lesbian community is everywhere. LOGO will launch in a variety of markets across America, including Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta and San Francisco, through national cable operators, including Time Warner Cable, RCN and additional distributors that will be announced in the coming weeks.

Q: How can i get the channel?
Call your local cable or satellite provider.

Q: Who will advertise on the channel?
We will be announcing a list of charter advertisers shortly. However, we are in discussions with many companies that already market to the gay audience such as IBM, General Motors, American Express, Avis, Pfizer and many others. We already have some commitments from companies such as Orbitz, but we have just begun to reach out to advertisers.

Q: How can I submit an idea for original programming to LOGO?
To submit a proposal to LOGO's original development department use the feedback form on the Contact Logo page. From the pulldown menu select "Show Ideas" and include your name, phone number, and e-mail address to have the submission release form e-mailed to you. You may also send a one page request for a submission release form to the address below and the form will be mailed to you.

LOGO
Attn: Submission Release
1775 Broadway
11th floor
NY, NY 10019

wasn't MTV already a channel aimed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers????? ;)

no, when MTV is referring to how their programming is aimed at LBGT they mean lame, gangsta, bitchy and trendy viewers.