Chicago -- New Age network Oasis Television will return to
cable this summer with part-time carriage in six cities and 500,000 homes, officials said
last week.
Through barter and leased-access agreements, Oasis will air
two hours of program highlights per day on Comcast Corp.'s system in West Palm Beach,
Fla., and on AT&T Broadband & Internet Services' systems in Seattle; Boulder and
Aspen, Colo.; Ashville, N.C.; and Woodstock, N.Y.
Oasis, which had been carried on one of Headend in the
Sky's transponders, went off that satellite about six months ago, president Robert
Schnitzer said. The network currently has no cable carriage.
In terms of additional cable carriage, Oasis is in talks
with Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications Inc. and Century Communications Corp. regarding
affiliation deals for digital and analog carriage.
Oasis also launched a new Web site by entering into a
partnership with Internet-service provider JiffyJeff Online Service. Under the three-year
pact, the ISP's providers will get New Age program content from oasistv.com.
Oasis also beefed up its management team, naming three vice
presidents: Howard Zaremba, formerly vice president of affiliate sales and marketing for
A&E Network, as vice president of marketing; John Petersen as vice president of
programming and production; and Anthony Bevacqua as vice president of strategic planning.
The network also retained Paula Brancato, an independent
investment banker, to develop investor-relations programs.
Oasis is exploring getting back on a transponder for
carriage as a full-time network, and it is also in talks with potential investors,
Schnitzer said.
The second New Age-oriented channel, Wisdom Television,
also made several announcements at the National Show here last week.
Wisdom -- which, unlike Oasis, is satellite-delivered --
entered into a program-acquisition and co-production partnership deal with WinStar TV
& Video, officials said last Monday.
Under the deal, Wisdom will acquire 56 hours of new
programming that has never been seen on television, including Four Noble Truths featuring
the Dalai Lama; an adaptation of John Robbins' best seller, Diet for a New America;and Recovering the Soul, an exploration of the convergence of science and
religion.
Wisdom and WinStar will also co-develop and co-produce
original series and specials, including The Age of e,a 13-part magazine
show on spirituality, hosted by Lois Larimore.
In addition, Wisdom has established relationships with
several self-help gurus who will act as a diplomatic corps for the network. The initial
representatives will be Dr. Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson, Neale Donald Walsch and
Chantal Westerman.
