From launching as the world’s first LGBT channel (and going bankrupt five years later), to growing an audience of more than a million in Canada, OUTtv’s journey offers many lessons in how to connect with an elusive community. Want to connect with Canada’s LGBT community? Don’t miss Marketing‘s inaugural “Connecting With the LGBT Community” conference (happening next Tuesday in Toronto). Click here to attend this can’t-miss event, in partnership with Pride Toronto.
In six short years, Vancouver-based OUTtv has grown from an underfunded channel with shaky revenue and a few incarnations to a highly successful TV station whose reach extends beyond the LGBT community.
Launched as Pridevision in 2001, the world’s first LGBT channel filed for bankruptcy five years later after failing to secure adequate cable coverage. Prominent film and TV producer James Shavick, whose TV credits include The New Addam’s Family and Ninja Turtles for Fox Family Channel, relaunched the station and now serves as CEO. His wife, former B.C. Finance Minister and NDP political figure Joy MacPhail, is chair of the board.
Since 2006, OUTtv has grown into a successful TV brand with a subscriber base of more than a million. Brad Danks, chief operating officer, says that it’s critical to understand what medium you’re in and that as a TV brand, there are three partners to consider: the audience; cable carriers, telecommunications companies or satellite providers; and advertisers.
“OUTtv’s biggest early mistake was thinking that if you have an audience, you also have a business. That works in print, but not in TV. It’s one thing to provide something that’s unique and good. But your product has to straddle those three groups to be something everyone agrees works,” says Danks.
OUTtv’s journey paints a picture of necessary evolution. Early on, the station transitioned out of carrying a heavy load of adult content in favour of developing more of a lifestyle brand. “Our core is issues around inclusiveness, empathy and the values that really matter to the LGBT community, rather than an in-your-face approach,” says Danks. “Also, because we were a crossover brand, we wanted to introduce not just LGBT concerns, but to cross over to more mainstream issues.”
Currently, OUTtv is in every Canadian province, broadcasting a mix of international independent films, documentaries and drama. As Danks notes, the “least-secret secret” and the biggest surprise about OUTtv is its audience: it boasts a large number of straight female viewers who are big fans of the programming. And one of the more unexpected comments came from a Rabbi who said to Shavick, “We love the channel’s movies.”
As part of its growth cycle, OUTtv is in the process of jumping to HD. “We should have 80% to 90% penetration this time next year in cable and telecommunications companies,” says Danks. The station has also carved out a major presence on social media. It has almost 10,000 Facebook fans, more than 8,000 Twitter followers and has targeted other social platforms like Pinterest.
One of the things Danks appreciates most is the LGBT community’s brand loyalty. “From a marketing perspective, if this audience knows you care about them, they’ll want to be with you. They’re very big on rewarding those who care about them. So it’s very gratifying to receive feedback every day that says, ‘I really appreciate what you did.’ It does really help the mission to know you’ve got such a thoughtful group of people that you’re working with.”
