Here! TV plans to launch 24-hour gay cable channel

Here! TV, a supplier of gay- and lesbian-oriented content to satellite customers via pay-per-view, is eyeing an October 1 launch for a round-the-clock programing service that will feature classic and original films and TV shows. As part of its pledge to produce more than 200 hours of original programing a year, Here! TV has given the go-ahead to 12 original movies and four original series. The Here! TV original series include Dante's Cove, a gay and lesbian Gothic horror thriller currently filming in the Caribbean, and Weapons of Mass Destruction, a spy thriller starring Cynthia Rothrock as a lesbian action hero. Its slate of original movies includes Deadly Skies, about a colonel thrown out of the military because of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy who saves the world from a killer asteroid; The Sisterhood, a female version of Dave Decoteau's Brotherhood; Too Cool for Christmas, a comedy about a teen and her two dads; and the thriller Snowman's Pass. Additionally, Here! TV has inked licensing deals with TLA Releasing, Wolfe Video, Strand Releasing, and Regent Worldwide Sales for 200 gay and lesbian independent film titles. The company will also introduce a subscription video-on-demand service consisting of 30 hours per month beginning June 1 and will make the three- to six-hour pay-per-view slate currently on DirecTV and EchoStar available to cable operators via video-on-demand or pay-per-view. All Here! TV services will be offered on a revenue-share basis with satellite providers adding the channel to their platform as a pay-per-view service in four-hour programing blocks or on a monthly subscription basis. (Reuters/The Hollywood Reporter)