Contact: Jim Weiss, Gospel Music Channel, 770-692-4579, jim@gospelmusicchannel.com

ATLANTA, Mar. 9 /Christian Newswire/ -- Gospel Music Channel's expanded and re-launched web site and digital efforts have won awards and acclaim in a variety of categories by three organizations honoring "The Best of the Web."

CableFax Daily's Best of the Web Awards named Philip Manwaring, GMC's vice president, digital media, to its Digital Hot List for his efforts in leading the network's aggressive digital initiative. The magazine, a leading cable television industry trade publication, also named GMC a finalist in the Best Email Newsletter category. The Best of the Web Awards recognizes outstanding websites and digital initiatives among cable programmers, operators, vendors and associations.

Sudden Industries, which helped design the new GMC web site (http://www.gospelmusicchannel.com) won a W3 Silver Award for Best Faith-Based Website. The W3 Awards honor creative excellence on the Web and are judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, interactive, advertising and marketing firms.

Sudden Industries' work on the new GMC site also was recognized by the Web Marketing Association with an Outstanding Achievement in Website Development for Faith-based Standard of Excellence. The Web Marketing Association was founded in 1997 to help set a high standard for Internet marketing and development of the best websites on the Web. The organization's WebAwards is the premier annual award competition that names the best websites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.

Manwaring said, "Our entire digital team has worked tremendously hard over the past year to make Gospel Music Channel a leader in the digital space for fans of gospel and Christian music. We are honored to have received these awards and look forward to continuing to serve and delight our audience throughout 2009."

Since joining GMC in February 2008, Manwaring has completely overhauled and re-launched the network's website, in the process turning it into the fastest-growing site among all gospel/Christian music online destinations.

The explosive growth of the GMC website coincides with the channel's distribution gains, which made it television's fastest-growing network in 2008 as it broke through the 40 million household barrier. The website posted a 300% gain in usage and more than doubled unique visitors over the previous year, growth that is unmatched among other gospel/Christian web sites (source: Google).

GMC's site www.gospelmusicchannel.com is the only web site where gospel music fans - for the first time ever - can vote in various categories of the 40th annual GMA Dove Awards, which will be seen live on GMC on April 23.

Gospel Music Channel is the fastest-growing network in television and can be seen in more than 40 million homes on various cable systems around the country and on DIRECTV on channel 338.