MTV and Showtime to do a gay cable channel
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/10/bu...ia/10CABL.html

Inevitable wasn't it? :)

Re: MTV and Showtime to do a gay cable channel
 

Always good to see the networks admit their decision are completely based on greed.

Well, we've had one in Canada for a little while now. I don't see why though, my sexual preferance doesn't really effect my TV watching experiance (I guess if I watched porn it would...)

It reminds me of a late night lesbian cooking show I saw a while back. I mean come on... lesbian cooking!?!? What's the difference?? :confused:

I'm not sure how it'd be too different from regular MTV...:confused:

is there really a need for a gay channel? are gay viewing tastes really that different from normal people? are they going to show will and grace and ellen episodes 24/7? this is a ridiculous idea for a channel

I have a family member who is gay and he says it's stupid, but when a group of people is persecuted, they will often group together and set themselfs apart, even though that is kind of what they are fighting against (being made to feel apart from the rest of us.)

I guess that's kind of true.

I don't know, I mean, sexual orientation is the major thing about being gay. So say I was gay, maybe I'd watch shows with hot guys in it... but that would be on regular TV stations too... I don't know. I guess there could be shows about gay people... but enough to make a TV station?

I just don't see it, I don't think being gay is a big deal... why a TV station for it?

2 words that explain why this will soon be the #1 network...

Hot Lesbians


D

I'm reminded on an SNL sketch.

"These aren't lesbians... where are their long red nails?"
"Yeah, and where's the asian?!"

(Paraphrased!)

Come on - let's not be so completely stereotypical here. I mean they have a channel for just about everything else (Lifetime - television for women, Home and Garden, Cooking?). There is a lot more programming that could florish here instead of having to make a lucky break and surviving on current broadcast networks like Will & Grace did. Would Showtime's Queer as Folk have made it there? Extremely doubtful.

C1TV showed the British QAF (C1TV is on in NYC) and got it wider viewership here in the states which led to the creation of the Showtime American version. If anything, there are a number of movies that are not available on video that could be shown on this channel instead of the one-month-a-year showings that Sundance typically does in the spring.

There's already one, it's called the Home Decorating Channel. ;)


Bad joke, I know.

Can we have a show hosted by <b>Jason Cerbone</b> otherwise known as Jackie Jr on <b>The Sopranos???</b> Heart is melting....

I'll be watching! :thumbsup:

BTW, I love the line in All Over The Guy where Richard Ruccolo's character refers to Lifetime as "Television for women and gay men". :D

If they put out shows with gay relationships worth watching, then it'll be worth it. Will and Grace and Ellen are the Uncle Tom's Cabin of gay entertainment, IMHO.

wormwood :)

I guess I better turn in my gay card....I'm not into home decorating, "Will and Grace", divas or brunches.

Funny...

I have every episode on tape...

I'd even fly out to LA just to see a taping. I think it is THE best thing on TV right now.

Will and Grace, that is.

I think that Ellen show is a bunch of Cr*p.

Actually, there probably wouldn't be a need for such a channel if so many "normal" people didn't consider gay people as something other than normal.

Btw, LiquidSky, I'm pretty much with you here. I can't decorate, either; rarely listen to "divas" (I tend to prefer guy singers, hehehe); and have never had brunch in my life. Where does the gay-card-revocation line form?

Since it most likely will be straight males (network/studio execs)running the thing, it will be interesting to see if they try to be (as mentioned above) just another channel like the Food Network, Lifetime, H&G, etc, or if they do that stupid straight-male's-idea-of-what-gays-want and make it some soft core pr0n channel.

Or, will they market it toward straight males by showcasing lots of lesbian stuff?

Its nice to have characters to identify with so, as a gay man, I would watch it. Network TV except Will and Grace, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and maybe Ellen are still too scared to deal with gay men who have a regular life and arent streotypes like in the Birdcage. We dont talk with lisps and where leather all the time.
I am all for a channel like this if they make some good shows.

Remember how scared ABC got over SOAP with Billy Crystal as a gay character and Thirtysomething where everyone got upset where two gay men were in bed together, just lying next to each other?

Its 2002, give some intelligent characters that arent stereotypes with Good writing.

Actually, that is a good point.

I know... but I see making it as making gays more seperate. See my post above.

I agree it wont be geared to normal gay people either, just the stero types...

Your points are good ones, and I agree that gay people are sometimes guilty of self-segregation, as are other minority groups...but as you said, sometimes there's comfort in that when a group feels persecuted by the "outside" world. Until people learn to accept one another as equals (and I don't see that happening anytime soon), there's just not going to be an easy answer to the dilemma.

Ultimately, as I said in the "Other" Forum thread regarding this issue, what we all want is good programming. Gay, straight, or otherwise, if it's of high quality, people will seek it out. (Of course, people also seek out the lowest-quality stuff, but that's another topic.)

Three's Company marathon!!!!!

Ridiculous? No, that's the <i>Golf Channel</i>.

But seriously.... it's not a question of gay viewing tastes, but rather an opportunity to provide information and services not elsewhere available. Does the Travel Channel provide information on gay-friendly travel destinations, or information on places to avoid (Cayman Islands, Egypt, etc)? Does the History Channel provide any insight into gay heritage? Will A & E's <i>Biography</i> series focus on prominent (and out) gay people? Does CourtTV cover legal activities that affect the gay community? Will ESPN cover the Gay Games? If it's done right, there won't be time for Will and Grace reruns!

As a gay man in his mid-20's, I'm very happy that America will FINALLY get a gay oriented channel (on cable I'm sure, I just hope cable companies will offer it everywhere and not just major cities.) I can imagine companies having to require customers to specifically ask for the channel so as not to offend religious types.

Marty gave many good examples of the type of progamming the new channel could broadcast, I'd love to see the Gay Games.

As for segregation, like others have said, many groups are NOT represented by mainstream media and the FEW offerings we get either get cancelled quickly or are just total crap. Having a network cater to your tastes is a positive thing. So while we eventually gain acceptance with mainstream media, we'll have something just for us in the meantime.

If you don't like it, you don't have to watch it.