LOS ANGELES – Five years after its 2004 launch, the premium gay and lesbian television network here! continues subscription growth, the company announced Tuesday.
In 2008, here! saw its subscriptions grow 21 percent nationally, according to a prepared statement. That number coincides with the recent Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing study noting consumers are not cutting back on premium cable services, despite the slow economy.
In 2008, here! also benefited from expanded carriage agreements with Comcast, AT&T U-verse, Verizon FiOS, and DISH Network, which combined deliver the network’s offerings to more 30 million U.S. households.
“2008 was a pivotal year for here! parent company Regent Media, which completed acquisitions of several leading LGBT brands to form Here Media, the largest gay media company in the world,” the statement said. “Here Media’s portfolio includes iconic print publications The Advocate and Out magazines as well as HIV Plus magazine; the theatrical production and distribution company here! Films, and the oldest LGBT publishing house in the U.S., Alyson Books. On the Internet, Here Media’s global network of gay- and lesbian-oriented websites include Advocate.com, Out.com, OutTraveler.com and SheWired.com.
“This year Here Media’s critically acclaimed projects received an Academy Award (2008 Best Foreign Language Film, Departures) and a GLAAD Media Award (Outstanding Film – Limited Release, Shelter) out of a total of six nominations.”
Maria Dwyer, here!’s senior vice president for affiliate sales and marketing, said, “Being able to leverage the assets of Here Media to drive acquisition for the network has been critical to our success. We look forward to continuing to partner with these revered brands to grow our subscription base. Earlier this year we launched our first major cobranded direct mail campaign with Charter Communications. We were able to utilize the subscription database of our sister companies to effectively target our mailing.”
here! provides a diverse array of gay programming that is uncensored and commercial-free. From guilty pleasures like series “Dante’s Cove” (returning for a fourth season in 2010) and “The Lair” (returning for a third Season in fall 2009) to lesbian fare like “Lesbian Sex and Sexuality” and indie films like Shelter, here! delivers programming unavailable anywhere else at a price point of less than $10 per month.
Founded in 2002, here! airs on all major U.S. cable systems as a 24-hour subscription service. here! appears in 96 of the top 100 U.S. markets, including every top 10 market. here! also was the first gay network originating in the U.S. to launch in Canada. here! Video, the broadband portal of here! Networks, provides a broad sampling of here! programming.
For more information about how to subscribe, visit hereTV.com or call (888) HERE-NOW.
