Gospel Channel Gets Big Boost from Black Family Channel

Dramatic Increase in Size for Gospel Channel After Deal

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Gospel Music Channel (GMC) and Black Family Channel (BFC) have made an agreement that will make GMC available in the nation's 10 largest market, according to an announcement Tuesday.

Although BFC will cease broadcasting as a linear cable television network and GMC will now be distributed in the majority of markets in its place, the African American cable television network has strongly endorsed the launch of GMC by systems carrying BFC.

"The mission of Black Family Channel was to entertain, inform and empower communities with family programming that was original, authentic and relevant," commented BFC Founder and Chairman Willie Gary, in a released statement. "We have concluded that the best way for us to accomplish that mission via television is to support Gospel Music Channel."

GMC Founder and President Charles Humbard and GMC Vice Chairman Brad Siegal said the company is "thrilled" and "honored" to receive BFC's support and endorsement.

"Gospel Music Channel is … proud to carry on the mission that BFC so ably accomplished," said Siegal, in a press release. "The two networks have shared the common goal of serving the family audience through programming that empowers, uplifts, and inspires, and we will continue to serve that family audience."

"Gospel Music Channel embodies BFC's values," Gary added, "but does so on a broader, multi-cultural scale."

Gospel Music Channel is the first 24-hour, all music entertainment network devoted to the uplifting, inspiring and diverse music that is gospel/Christian music. According to the 2006 Myers Emotional Connections Study measuring viewers' emotional connections to nearly 50 emerging and mid-sized networks, Gospel Music Channel ranks first in "overall emotional connections with audience," first in "audience attentiveness to advertising" and first in "feeling comfortable viewing with family."

Following the new agreement, GMC expects to finish the year with more than 20 million subscribers.

"GMC presents the greatest opportunity for us to advance our goals of serving the family in the multi-cultural community," added Gary. "We strongly endorse these launches of GMC and encourage our community of black leadership, colleges and churches to support Gospel Music Channel and the cable companies that carry it."

Beginning yesterday, Gospel Music Channel is now available on: Bright House Networks systems in Tampa and Bakersfield; Charter in St. Louis; Comcast Digital Cable in markets including Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denver, Houston, Pittsburgh and Sacramento; Cox systems in Hampton Roads and Roanoke, Va., and Omaha; and Time Warner Cable systems in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, San Diego, Northeast and Southwest Ohio, Charlotte, Raleigh and others.