Circa Pict. & Prod. Co. Intnl Inc. (fka CPPD)

[skunksyard]

France unveils gay TV channel

http://www.planetout.com/news/election/article.html?2004/09/28/4

PlanetOut Network
Tuesday, September 28, 2004 / 05:46 PM

Promoters of Pink TV, the first gay television channel in France, revealed details about programming on Tuesday as they popped corks off pink champagne.

Pink TV will showcase "Wonder Woman" reruns, Japanese "manga" cartoons, movies, documentaries, experimental series and X-rated shows (after midnight). The channel will launch on Oct. 25 on cable and satellite, the Associated Press reported.

The channel is "a giant leap for television, a small step in high heels," said presenter Eric Gueho.

"Pink is coming at the right moment," said Pascal Houzelot, president and founder of the channel. "There's an evident change in mentalities. ... In France, we can clearly say that gays have gone from the era of tolerance to the era of legality, which simply means equality."

Subscriptions to the channel will cost $11, and the target number of subscribers is at least 18,000. Executives predict that half of the subscriber base will live in or near Paris.

Gay TV channels already exist in Britain: GayDate TV and Gay TV. In the United States, the much-anticipated Logo basic channel will launch in February, and here!TV, a growing pay-per-view service, plans to launch a 24-hour cable channel this fall. A premium channel known as Q Television is also in the early stages of expanding to major U.S. cities.