Issues@Hand
AFA initiatives, Christian activism, news briefs
August 2004 – MTV, the controversial cable network known for promoting sexual immorality, is set to launch a new channel dedicated to all things homosexual.
Scheduled for a February 17 debut, the network will be called Logo, and feature gay-themed movies, reruns and reality-oriented series, according to The Detroit News. Entertainment giant Viacom owns MTV.
Viacom Co-President Tom Freston, who until June 1 was CEO of MTV, promised that Logo would not be “indecent,” adding, “We’re not using sex. This will be mainstream programming.”
Pro-family groups are skeptical. MTV has a reputation for airing lewdness, and AFA President Tim Wildmon said he doesn’t think Logo will be able to avoid sex if its target audience is homosexual.
“The homosexual community doesn’t have a common language, or music or food. The only thing ‘gays’ and lesbians all have in common is their same-sex proclivities,” he said. “You can rest assured that sex will quickly become a major theme on Logo.”
The main goal for Viacom, which also owns VH1, Spike, Nickelodeon and CBS, will be to turn Logo into a moneymaker. Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone said Logo could “be worth a billion dollars” because homosexuals have plenty of disposable income – more than $450 billion a year, according to some estimates.
Wildmon said that makes money a possible Achilles heel for Logo. “AFA and other pro-family groups will be watching which companies advertise on this network,” he said, “and we’ll make decisions accordingly.”
Another concern for pro-family groups is that the plan is to offer Logo as part of the basic cable package, rather than as a premium channel like HBO or Showtime.
“That means parents have to worry about kids scanning past a channel with 24-hour-a-day homosexual programming on their way to watching cartoons,” said Wildmon.
AFA and other pro-family groups have been asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Congress to require cable providers to allow consumers more choice when it comes to programming options. The FCC is now in the process of studying that possibility.
“Hopefully the FCC will agree with the majority of Americans who want choice when it comes to their cable programming,” Wildmon said.
He noted that a poll revealed that 80% of Americans thought cable customers should not “be required to pay for a basic package of programming that might include channels they don’t want to view.” 
