Nashville’s Comcast Cable has added Logo, MTV Networks’ channel for the GLBT community, to its cable line-up, appearing on basic digital channel 166.
Having launched on June 30, 2005, in many markets across Am erica, including Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta, Logo was added to the Nashville cable system on September 1. Unlike HERE!, a pay-per view GLBT channel on Comcast, Logo will air free of charge to any customer with Comcast’s Digital Package.
A representative from Comcast will appear on one of the September shows of the local GLBT news and information show, Out & About Today on NewsChannel 5+ (cable channel 50) to talk about the new channel and the decision to add it to the Nashville lineup.
For several months, many in the Nashville GLBT community have fought to get Logo added to Comcast’s line-up by mounting e-mailing campaigns and phone-in requests. Much of this effort was in response to rumors that members of Nashville’s religious community were pressuring Comcast not to add Logo.
When asked about these campaigns, Will Jefferson, a marketing manager for Comcast replied, “We’ve received inquiries for the station, but not necessarily any greater number than requests to carry other stations. In fact, we’ve notified our subscribers of this station’s availability, and to my knowledge, we haven’t received any negative feedback.”
Reports show that the average television consumer views only 17-20 channels from a possible lineup of hundreds. If a consumer feels the channel is of questionable content, Comcast offers parental blocking controls, which work for any programming on Comcast Digital.
And to those who say that Comcast is catering to the GLBT community, the fact remains that over the past few years, Comcast has launched five religious programming channels, additional channels for the Spanish speaking consumer, as well as additional sports channels.
“We don’t feel we are being progressive,” Jefferson clarifies. “We, as a company, pride ourselves on trying to bring niche programming to all portions of the community. This is just the evolution of what happens when a company recognizes and addresses the different aspects of its community.”
Logo prides itself on providing a mix of original and acquired entertainment that is inclusive and authentic. Appealing to a broad range of GLBT viewers and friends, Logo features a vast library of major film titles, documentaries, and quality original shows and specials.
Among the music series premiering on Logo will be 10 Count, a weekly program featuring the top 10 GLBT videos. This hosted weekly music series pulls together music that speaks to the GLBT audience directly through GLBT artists.
Logo not only entertains its GLBT audience and supporters, but it also keeps them informed by teaming up with the award winning, veteran production team of CBS News. The news is a combination of breaking news specials as well as news features appealing to the gay and lesbian audience.
If you don’t already subscribe to Comcast Cable, or need to upgrade to Comcast’s Digital Package, log on to www.comcast.com or call (800) 266-2278.
