Howdy, Of particular interest to the gospel and bluegrass fans out there (and also of interest to Alex Millar-- note the barbershop quartet reference. <g>) >From the Wednesday, January 13 edition of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Some local content with national implications. Now, I've gotta get cable installed at my apartment... Gospel channel on cable Terry Morrow, News-Sentinel entertainment writer Gospel Music Television's prayers are being answered. Comcast cable is running a sneak peek of the 24-hour Southern gospel music channel through Friday for subscribers in Knox and Campbell counties. The peek, which can be seen on Channel 72, is reaching 110,000 homes in the area, says Jeff Moser, affiliate marketing director for Gospel Music Television. Although GMT is based in Pigeon Forge, the channel can only be viewed usually through satellite subscription services. Moser says GMT has about 10.5 million viewers nationwide and Canada. "We are coming from right here at home and if there is any place in the country where we should be been, it should be here in East Tennessee," he says. "The network has been up and running for two years. We have been incubating and forming and gelling, and now we are busting out of our shell. We are getting aggressive about marketing ourselves to cable companies. "Our whole goal is to become a cable network." The Comcast preview could provide that chance. Moser said GMT is already negotiating with Comcast to be added permanently, but viewers can express their opinions of what they think by calling Comcast. GMT shows performance videos and some original programming. Among the shows it produces: coverage of the Southern gospel music festival held each August at the Grand Hotel in Pigeon Forge and the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Ky. If GMT is added permanently to Comcast, the network would also expand its variety of gospel music sounds to include more country and bluegrass, Moser says. "The results of this Comcast peek is very big for us," Moser says. "It shows to other cable operators what kind of a demand and response we have right here. This is a big opportunity for us." Unlike many other religion-related TV channels, GMT does not solicit donations from viewers and is not affiliated with a denomination, Moser says. For more information about GMT, call (423) 453-4683. # # # Take care, Shane Rhyne Knoxville, TN [EMAIL PROTECTED] NP: Mary Cutrufello, "Candy in the Window"
