Showtime Channel and gay content - Essay Example

Why Gay Audience Watches Showtime Programming? Gay audience watches Showtime programming because Showtime has served the entertainment needs of this niche community of audience, otherwise not served by other channels. Showtime programs include many gay characters as it’s “Queer as Folk”. Programming of Showtime includes acquired films, original series, imported series, news and information programs, talk shows, comedy shows, and travel shows. The gay audience is keen to view mixed programs, not just gay content because of it’s varied range and preference.

Research indicates that gay audience forms 6.5 percent of the television viewers, which is estimated to be the minimum as not all gay people disclose their identity easily (Carter par. 7-11). It needs to be acknowledged that gay population in America has a spending power of $350 billion a year. Advertisers also find the gay adults to be very reciprocal for the reasons that they spend more than others and have a distinct cultural identity, particularly in pop culture. Like advertisers, Showtime has focused on creating the gay audience for it’s programs on the lines of MTV (Carter par. 12-15). Showtime’s leading program “Queer as Folk” depicts the actual life of gay people in high on graphic content on young gay men in Pittsburgh.

This program has a twice high rating during the prime time on Showtime (Carter par. 16).Showtime has been involved even in large scale survey to review the response of gay viewers about starting a separate channel for them (Carter par. 3).Work CitedCarter, Bill. “MTV and Showtime plan Cable Channel for Gay Viewers.” New York Times on the Web. 10 January 2002. 16 May 2012.