Naked News to offer version for gay audiences as original continues on PPV

Naked News, a Toronto-based Internet news show, has come out of the closet. A new version will now cater to a gay audience, covering issues specific to that community along with other news. World renowned for delivering the days events in the nude, the new program Naked News Daily Male was launched in March by Naked Broadcasting Network Inc. The added show was created at the request of viewers. The audience for the male newscast is comprised largely of gay men. David Warga, the show’s executive producer, says Naked News refit the program to better suit their viewers. "It is the same audience that always watched Naked News, we are just acknowledging the audience, and catering the product to the audience," he says. "Naked News has come out of the closet . . . Women have programs, and if you know your audience is black then you have black-oriented programming. (Gay programming) is part of the natural evolution of freedom of expression." Currently available only on the Internet, monthly memberships for Naked News Daily Male cost $19.87. If this show rakes in ratings comparable to its female counterpart, in which all the anchors are women, international television slots may be in store. Making the female newscast available on television as well as the Internet has been a great achievement according to Warga. Since the show first appeared on TV screens in 2001, it has been the most successful program to cross from the Internet into television. In Canada, however, the show is aired only on hotel pay-per-view. Naked News was unable to reach a contract agreement with CHUM Ltd. that had been broadcasting the show on its Citytv and Sex TV channels. This has not impeded the programs’ popularity in other countries though, where it is estimated that 25 million viewers tune in each week. While Naked News Daily Male is still in its early stages, Bill Craig, potential buyer of the gay and lesbian channel Pridevision, says there is a market for gay oriented television programs. "The rule of thumb is that 25% of the population is gay-friendly, 25% of the population is homophobic and the other 50% don’t care," he says. "Of that 25% of the gay-friendly population, 10% identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered. There is a terrific market there and a significant portion of the population." Craig adds that sports fans make up 12% of the population and are perceived as a large market. If his acquisition of Pridevision is successful, Craig says he would certainly consider broadcasting the Naked News Daily Male. He adds, though, that it would probably not air early in the evenings. Naked News is branching out into other media as well. It is pursuing deals with cell phone and PDA companies, a field that Warga says the company is well prepared to enter because Internet broadcasting is similar. It has also signed a contract with the American company Akimbo, which has developed a player that allows viewers to watch Internet shows on their TV screens. "There is a tremendous amount of convergence from the same show," he says. "Whether you’re watching it on the Internet, or on TV, or on a handheld, there aren’t any media that we’re not in." People are tuning in according to Warga, who says the response to the gay focus has been gratifying. The audience is very loyal and supportive, he says, attracting attention not only within the community but also from outside media. Naked News will be in the spotlight again later this month as the subject of a documentary. Although there are no plans to launch a lesbian focused version of the Naked News, because there isn’t the demand, Warga says they continually look for ways to develop. "We are always looking to expand into new media," he says. "We see ourselves on the vanguard of technology and changing social attitudes . . . I think people will look back on us and say, ‘Look at what Naked News did.’"

Naked News to offer version for gay audiences as original continues on PPV

News | 04/30/2004 4:00 am EDT

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