Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey to Launch Family Friendly TV Network
Producers of the The Bible TV series Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, along with MGM Studios, are set to launch a new faith and family friendly TV network next month.
The new digital network, called Light TV, will air on Fox stations and affiliates in over a dozen major cities. Broadcasting & Cable reports that “Light TV will debut in top markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Orlando, Phoenix, Minneapolis and Charlotte, N.C.”
Burnett and Downey have spearheaded the Christian filmmaking effort in Hollywood in recent years, with titles such as Ben-Hur (2016), Woodlawn, Son of God and A.D. The Bible Continues. Light TV, created by Downey’s MGM-owned LightWorkers Media, is the couple’s latest foray into the growing market.
“This is the beginning of our new, multi-platform faith and family network, where the demand is greater than ever for family friendly entertainment,” Downey said, according to Variety. “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.”
Burnett added that the new, free to watch venue is “an ideal platform to reach the enormously, underserved family audience.”
Programming will air 24 hours a day and includes shows such as Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Highway to Heaven and the Canadian drama Heartland. It will also pull from such MGM titles as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Rocky, Pink Panther, Mr. Mom and Hoosiers.
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