OutTV’s new owner, Shavick Entertainment president James Shavick, says of his latest venture: ‘We realize it will be a labour of love (and that) this is a fixer-upper. But our company has good cash flow and we’re very intrigued by the challenges ahead.’
The Vancouver-based prodco purchased controlling interest in the troubled gay and lesbian digichannel and its sibling, Hard On PrideVision, for an undisclosed sum on July 7th, and Shavick says he plans to air gay-themed film and TV content made by his production company, among others. ‘In order for a channel of this sort to be successful, it has to be a destination where people will want to stop,’ he says.
The deal requires approval from the CRTC and comes just three years after the channel, originally called PrideVision, was sold for $2.6 million by the Headline Media Group to broadcaster Bill Craig. In 2004, it was rebranded as OutTV. The channel had conflicts with Shaw Communications, and in January sought bankruptcy protection following a dispute with the western cable company over satellite feeds.
If approved, the deal will leave Shavick with 52% of the company shares, while Toronto-based Pink Triangle Press – which publishes gay and lesbian newspapers in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa – will increase its ownership to 38% from 21%. The remaining 10% is owned by channel founder John Levy.
A version of this story appears in the August 7th issue of Playback.
