"DOVES DAY" WED. APRIL 23 ON GOSPEL MUSIC CHANNEL:

"Best Of The Doves" Series Marathon
Leads Up To Live Telecast of 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards

Contact: Jim Weiss, Gospel Music Channel, 770-692-4563, Jim@gospelmusicchannel.com

ATLANTA, April 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- Gospel Music Channel (GMC) has proclaimed Wed. April 23, 2008 as Doves Day as the nation's fastest growing television network readies for it's first-ever live telecast of Gospel/Christian music's biggest night of the year – The 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards Live from the Grand Old Opry in Nashville, TN that night at 8:00 p.m. ET.

GMC's Doves Day will kick off at 7:00 a.m. ET on Wed. April 23 with The Best of The Doves Marathon, the complete first season of the GMC original series that features highlights from 38 years of The Doves, including 200 performances and 130 artists from multiple genres of Gospel, including soul, urban, hip-hop, country and rock. Featured artists will include Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Whitney Houston with the Georgia Mass Choir, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Kirk Franklin, Blind Boys of Alabama, Yolanda Adams, Third Day, Jars of Clay and Dolly Parton.

GMC's Doves Day climaxes at 8:00 p.m. with the live telecast of The 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards. Artists performing include: American Idol® previous finalists Phil Stacey, Mandisa and Chris Sligh; Dove Award Female Vocalist of the Year Natalie Grant with country icon Wynonna, 19 Recordings/Jive Recording Artist Jordin Sparks; Ricky Skaggs and The Whites, Point Of Grace with Cindy Morgan, Charlie Daniels with Third Day's Mac Powell, Casting Crowns, Marvin Sapp, Switchfoot, The Clark Sisters, David Crowder*Band, Trin-i-tee 5:7, The Isaacs, Angella Christie, The Hoppers, Jeff and Sheri Easter and Karen Peck and New River, New Artist of the Year Nominees 33 Miles, Brandon Heath, Group 1 Crew, Mandisa, Rush Of Fools and DeWayne Woods.

Confirmed as Dove Award presenters are Kirk Franklin and Matthew West and Dove Award nominees Skillet, Aaron Shust, Mark Lowry, tobyMac, Sandi Patty, Rob Beckley of Pillar, Mark Schultz, and Leonardo. ABC Good Morning America comedy contributor Anita Renfroe will also be on hand to present at the Dove Awards along with fellow comic Michael Jr., R&B singer Regina Belle and from the NFL Cincinnati Bengals Ben Utecht.

In addition to the live telecast, GMC will present immediate back-to-back encore broadcasts of The Dove Awards Weds. Night and additional re-airings in the days following.

Gospel Music Channel is the exclusive television home for the GMA Dove Awards. GMC is the fastest growing television network in America and can be seen in 40 million homes across the country on DIRECTV channel 338, cable systems including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, and Knology as well as on Verizon FiOS. Gospel Music Channel is the first and only 24/7 television network dedicated to the rich history and contemporary sounds of Gospel/Christian music and its many different genres and artists. From rock to rap, country to soul, southern to hip-hop, Gospel Music Channel crosses cultures and generations.