Four Years and 40 Million Homes: Gospel Music Channel Celebrates 4th Birthday
Contact: Jim Weiss, Gospel Music Channel (GMC), 770-692-4579, jim@gospelmusicchannel.com
MEDIA ADVISORY, October 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Gospel Music Channel (GMC) television network debuted four years ago this week (Oct. 30, 2004) as a small, independent start-up cable channel with only several thousand homes able to see it. Since then, the nation's first and only 24/7 all gospel/Christian music channel has taken the country by storm and become one of the fastest-growing networks in television history. Among Gospel Music Channel's successes and highlights:
-- GMC is now in more than 40 million homes around the country, carried by every major cable operator -- including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox & Charter -- seen in all major markets and nationwide on DIRECTV Channel 338.
-- GMC's web site, GospelMusicChannel.com, has become the leading site among all gospel/Christian music web sites, posting a whopping 300% gain in usage and more than doubling unique visitors.
-- GMC Video-On-Demand offerings are among the most popular among all cable subscribers.
-- GMC brings together the most ethnically-diverse viewership on television: 44% Caucasians, 41% African Americans, 15% Latinos/others.
-- The diversity of GMC's viewers has attracted such major advertising partners as Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Lincoln Mercury, General Motors, Hershey, Tyson Foods, Unilever, Wal-Mart, Allstate, Royal Caribbean, Hallmark Stores, Sears, H&R Block and others.
-- GMC has become the largest producer of original gospel/Christian music television in the world, producing more than 250 hours of concerts, series, specials and video, producing all new content in High Definition. GMC has also become home to the two most-prestigious award shows in gospel/Christian music: The GMA Dove Awards and The Stellar Awards.
-- GMC has consistently performed extremely well in research and surveys, proving that people who have GMC watch it and love it and people who don't have it, want it. In the most recent research report, viewers ranked GMC #1 in satisfaction and #1 in overall enjoyment of cable television among all video music networks while placing in the top eight among all channels in the same two categories. GMC also ranked as the #1 emerging or mid-size network in an annual survey of cable operators and #1 in "audience attentiveness to advertising" and #1 in "feeling comfortable viewing with family" in a recent major advertising industry research report.
-- GMC's growth and popularity have made it a powerful marketing partner for the gospel/Christian music industry in helping drive sales for new albums, products, artist tours and more.
"It is very gratifying and humbling that our vision to provide family-friendly entertainment programming with strong Christian values is being embraced on so many levels. We look forward to continued growth and success in the months ahead and pledge to our loyal viewers and users that we will continue to deliver the very best that gospel/Christian music has to offer," said Charles Humbard, founder and president of Gospel Music Channel and former president of Discovery Digital Networks. Humbard founded Gospel Music Channel and launched the network with network Vice Chairman Brad Siegel, the former head of TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies. "We are thrilled with our growth and look forward to driving our family-safe music television to even further heights," said Siegel.
GMC offers uplifting and inspiring programming and something Americans are craving at one of the most perilous moments of our generation: Hope. If the number of people needing Hope and Inspiration in our country is any barometer, then Gospel Music Channel’s growth potential has no end in sight.
