CBS SeesBS

Gay channel Logo launches weekly newscast

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Gay-lesbian network Logo is moving into the network news business, planning to televise a half-hour weekly newscast produced by CBS News.

"CBS News on Logo" will premiere next Monday at 7 p.m. EST. The newscast stems from a two-year partnership between the MTV Networks channel and CBS News. A dedicated CBS News crew working out of its West 57th Street broadcast center had been producing three-minute interstitials that aired daily on Logo.

Those interstitials will be replaced by the half-hour newscast.

Brian Graden, Logo president and president of MTV Networks Music Group Entertainment, said Monday that Logo had gotten to the point where it had the distribution and roster of advertisers to take things to another level.

"It seemed like there was enough news to sustain that (half-hour) format and then some, and that the audience had a concentrated interest" a year out from the 2008 general elections, Graden said. He didn't rule out further news programming based on how things go.

The new show will focus on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues including the 2008 election, HIV/AIDs and entertainment, sports and science news. The newscast will be available on Logo as well as streamed at 365gay.com (http://365gay.com), a Logo-owned Website.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter