Q Television Network was a shortlived

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

channel which aired programming targeted to the

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, and

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

audiences.David Bauder
"Three new television networks seeks (sic) out gay and lesbian audiences"
'' The Daily Journal'', April 14, 2005. Founded by Frank Olsen, and eventually owned by Triangle Multimedia, the cable channel aired a mix of film, documentary and music programming, along with a number of original live talk show, information and news programs.

History

The channel's establishment was announced in early 2004, and began advertising in August.Lou Hirsh, "Local network tries for a cable slot". ''

The Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History First issued on August 5, 1927, as a weekly six-page newspaper, ''The Desert Sun'' grew with the desert co ...

'', August 19, 2004. Its studios were based in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

.Janice McDonald
"The Lead: A new way to network"
'' Palm Springs Life'', January 6, 2006. It launched in September on selected cable services in major metropolitan markets, expanding in 2005 around the same time as the launch of

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

. Despite being based in Palm Springs, however, the city's mayor

Ron Oden Ron Oden (born March 21, 1950) is an American politician. In November 2003, he was elected the first gay African-American mayor of Palm Springs, California, after serving eight years on the city council. He became the first Black openly gay ma ...

had to actively lobby to get the channel added to the local cable lineup. Personalities associated with Q programming included Jack E. Jett, Jackie Enx, Rob Williams, Elizabeth Melendez, Nick Oram,

Steve Kmetko Stephen James Kmetko (born February 16, 1953) is an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast and entertainment journalist. First working as a news anchor and reporter in the US Midwest, Kmetko moved to Los Angeles, California, and embarked on a 3 ...

, Josh Fountain, Honey Labrador, Joe Bechely, Reichen Lehmkuhl and Chrisanne Eastwood. In 2005, Q became available in Australia via SelecTV. In February 2006, following a missed payroll run, the channel laid off much of its staff and shuttered its production facility in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. It rehired a skeleton staff on a part-time basis later in the month, but Olsen was pushed out as CEO on March 7 and replaced by Taiwanese businessman Lloyd Fan. By May, Fan announced that the channel was shutting down, and the company filed for bankruptcy on May 25.Neil Broverman, "R.I.P. Q"]. '' The Advocate (LGBT magazine), The Advocate'', July 9, 2006. Some of the production staff and crew reunited under the direction of ''Queer Edge'' associate producer Sean Carnage on March 6, 2006, to produce the music documentary '' 40 Bands 80 Minutes!''.

References

{{Authority control Defunct television networks in the United States LGBTQ-related television channels LGBTQ-related television in the United States Television channels and stations disestablished in 2006 2004 establishments in the United States 2006 disestablishments in the United States Companies based in Palm Springs, California Television channels and stations established in 2004 LGBTQ culture in California

History

See also

References