A New Channel That Won't Tell It Straight

By JEANNE McDOWELL

ONCE THE GREAT BLINKING BLUE unifier, television is now firmly in the niche business. After years of targeting pretty much every other group--women (Lifetime), young men (Spike TV), African Americans (BET) and insomniacs (C-SPAN--we kid!), it's inevitable that there would be a channel aimed specifically at gay and lesbian viewers. LOGO is scheduled to debut in 10 million to 15 million homes with digital cable in February, and is being touted by its creators as a cultural turning point. "It's a channel whose time has come," says Brian Graden, MTV and VH1's entertainment president, who helped develop the new channel. "Finally every voice will be accepted in the media landscape."

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The sentiment is almost as sweet as the business prospects. With an estimated $485 billion in annual purchasing power, the country's 15 million-strong gay audience represents an alluring target for programmers and advertisers who, Graden says, have so far been enthusiastic about committing ad dollars to LOGO. And despite some protests from such conservative voices as the American Family Association, the cable venture is good to go with a mission that is simple and straightforward: entertainment.

Programming for LOGO, which will debut mostly in urban markets like Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, will include a variety of reality shows, movies such as Gods and Monsters and An Early Frost, and gay-themed specials like the annual GLAAD Media Awards. One potential new series, My Fabulous Gay Wedding, would follow a couple from wedding planning to the altar. Cher and her daughter Chastity Bono are producing Family Outing, which will chronicle coming-out stories. While straight people will have a presence, LOGO looks at life with a decidedly gay lens, with no apologies. "Our approach is to have a diverse portfolio of shows that reflects our real lives," says Graden.

But don't look to LOGO to be only a platform for hot-button issues like gay marriage. Sure, some shows like My Fabulous Gay Wedding can't help but be political. But Graden says that the cable newcomer won't be strident or in-your-face. "The fact that we even exist is a statement that advances the political dialogue."

Groundbreaking, perhaps. But in recent years, the small screen has increasingly depicted gay characters in a number of cable and network shows including Will & Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer as Folk and The L Word, the first two of which are certifiable hits. Do the nation's gay viewers want to watch a channel entirely devoted to their issues? Graden thinks so. "The gay characters on TV are not authentic representations," he insists. "We deserve to have a place of our own." --By Jeanne McDowell