MTV’s eyes on lucrative prize: gay viewers

Diverse demographic
Another media watcher is cautiously optimistic about Logo's chances of success in an already crowded media marketplace.

‘I'm not surprised that it's happening. I'm just surprised that it's taken so long.’ — ROBERT THOMPSON director, Center for the Study of Popular Television, Syracuse University

“I think this is a difficult time to launch any channel,” said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University. “There are so many out there. But the idea of a ‘gay channel’ was inevitable.”

“I'm not surprised that it's happening,” he said. “I'm just surprised that it's taken so long.”

But Thompson sees some hurdles. Other cable channels have been directed at specific, easily identified viewer blocs. But gays and lesbians comprise a demographic almost too diverse for words, Thompson said. “What a 17-year-old gay male wants to watch will be considerably different from what a 65-year-old lesbian female will want to watch,” he said. “You can't program for the entire gay audience.”

In search of the monster hit
Thompson generally applauded MTV’s strategy of repackaging tried and true programs. “That's a good idea and a good launching point,” he said. “The problem for gay programs is, let's face it — that well isn't nearly as deep. I'm not sure there’s enough there [on which] to base a new channel."

He said Logo needs what every new cable channel needs, a “niche anchor hit.”

Craig Blankenhorn / AP The cast of Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy": left to right, Ted Allen, Jai Rodriguez, Carson Kressley, Thom Filicia and Kyan Douglas.

“Look at Bravo's ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.’ It forced everyone to look at their cable channel list," he said. “The buzz was everywhere, and that's what did wonders for Bravo. Millions of Americans found Bravo as a result of that.”

(Bravo is a property of NBC Universal; MSNBC is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News.)

“But getting that niche anchor hit is easier said than done. Many are called, but few are chosen,” Thompson said.

More slices of America
But Logo, as well as Here! and Q, appear to represent ways to address the continuing stratification of American television.

“Back in the analog world, you had to have services that were very broadly defined in order to come up with a hit,” said Paul Colichman, founder and CEO of the Here! channel. “Today, with digital availability, the smaller niches are more important than the hits. The gay and lesbian audience is high on the list of desirable niches.”

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