Germany launched its first gay
television channel on November 1st.
TIMM is produced by German production
company Deutsche Fernsehweke and will be offered via satellite and
cable, reports the Agence France-Press news agency.
With the theme “We love men,” the
cable channel is aimed directly at gay men, but said it also hopes to
attract a gay-friendly audience including lesbians and
“metrosexuals.”
The United States enjoys several gay
and lesbian themed cable channels including Logo, here!, Olivia and
gay-friendly Bravo, many of which will supply programming for the
gay-themed channel. Gay faves like Bravo's Kathy Griffin: My Life
On The D List and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, will
join Logo's animated series Rick And Steve: The Happiest Gay
Couple In All The World and the African-American gay drama
series-turned-movie Noah's Arc on TIMM.
Showtime's groundbreaking drama about
lesbians living in Los Angeles, L Word, and America's original
gay-themed drama (via the UK) about the life-long friendship of two
gay men in gritty Pittsburgh, Queer As Folk, will also be
broadcast.
“TIMM enriches the existing
television landscape with programming from and by the target group –
simply for everyone who loves men,” the channel said.
“The highly positive feedback from
the target group in the last 12 months has shown us how high the
demand is for tailored information, entertainment and service.”
Officials at TIMM promise to tackle
Germany's leading gay rights issues such as the discrimination faced
by Muslim gays and Germany's dark era of gay persecution under Adolf
Hitler's Nazi Party.
An estimated 3.6 million gay men live
in Germany, a progressive country where gay and lesbian unions have
been recognized by the government under life partnerships since 2001.
TIMM launched with a modest six hours
of programming per day.