Roma Downey, Mark Burnett And MGM Launch “Light TV”

ROMA DOWNEY, MARK BURNETT AND MGM LAUNCH "LIGHT TV" WITH FOX STATIONS ON BOARD [Excerpts]

A seven-day-a-week, 24-hour programming schedule would normally be extremely expensive to program, but the idea is all in the repackaging and marketing of existing fare and Burnett and Downey have already proven themselves as great marketers.

Light TV, they say, will feature “wholesome family and faith-based entertainment programming” and will be the vehicle for the studio to be able to further monetize its film and TV library. The idea is not unlike TV Land in its early days, or MeTV, where the studio and Lightworkers’ Media's Downey, along with her husband, Burnett, who is President of MGM Television and Digital, are lining up a bevy of titles to feed the machine. The programming will include Fox’s Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, acquisition titles Highway to Heaven and Heartland and a bevy of films from the studio’s library: Rocky, Hoosiers, Red River, Little Man Tate, The Nutcracker, Lilies of the Field, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Black Stallion, All Dogs Go To Heaven, Pink Panther, Fame and Mr. Mom to name some of the titles.

In doing this, MGM is tapping into the cachet of Downey and Burnett whose names have become synonymous with faith-based films and TV programs and then repackaging old titles with a new branding technique.

The seven-day per week broadcast network already has signed up affiliates in top markets, where it will air on the subchannels of Fox stations, including New York (WNYW), Los Angeles (KTTV). Chicago (WFLD), Philadelphia (WTXF), Dallas (KDFW) – Houston (KRIV), San Francisco (KTVU), D.C. (WTTG), Atlanta (WAGA), Orlando (WOFL), Phoenix (KSAZ), Minneapolis (KMSP) and Charlotte (WJZY).

“This is the last unclaimed vertical. As we have already seen from the success of The Bible series and our 20 million social followers, this audience is looking for inspiring and uplifting programming that they can watch in a trusted and safe environment on any platform,” said Downey in making the announcement...

(CBN News Online, “Roma Downey, Mark Burnett And MGM Launch Light TV With Fox Stations On Board, 11/17/16)

[TBC: As has been pointed out Downey and Burnett promote teachings that cannot be family friendly because they promote an unbiblical Gospel. Please see the May 2015 newsletter: https://www.thebereancall.org/content/may-2015-notes for just one example.]