Some NBC Affiliates Closing the Book on Daniel

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TBN's Acquisition Of 'Holy Land Experience' Theme Park Seeks To Change More Lives

June 9, 2007 ORLANDO -- Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the world's largest religious broadcaster and America's most-watched faith channel, hopes to change more lives through its addition of the "Holy Land Experience" theme park in Orlando, Fl., to the TBN family. Through the acquisition, TBN will bring an integration of the powerful living recreation of ancient Jerusalem with a cutting edge facility that will be used for television production, dramas, musical concerts, special events and movies.

"This marriage will bring an unprecedented synergy to both ministries and the production that is done there will be seen by a worldwide audience. TBN's involvement made sense, because both ministries are about changing and effecting people's lives. We've been doing that for 34 years," said Paul Crouch, Jr., TBN Vice President of Administration. "We believe this opportunity was heaven sent because it bought TBN an Orlando-based facility to fulfill it's local programming obligations for WGTL CH-52 and it will provide "The Holy Land Experience" with much needed promotion to bring more people to the theme park and Orlando as a whole."

The Holy Land Experience could well be considered Orlando's most inspiring destination as visitors experience a full day of discovery that takes them 2,000 years back in time to the world of the Bible. It brings to life ancient Israel as a unique, thriving world filled with fascinating exhibits and venues. Visitors learn about the Wilderness Tabernacle and the Great Temple; discover the amazing history of the Bible; explore the city of Jerusalem in miniature; see re-enactments of Jesus' ministry, His life, death, and resurrection; and feel the power and passion of our original musical productions.

WGTL TV, Channel 52, has a reach of over four million viewers in the Orlando and Cocoa Beach metropolitan areas with TBN's wide range of innovative faith-based programming. In October of 2006, TBN celebrated the inaugural broadcast of WGTL Ch-52 in Orlando with a dedicatory service attended by TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch, Pastor Benny Hinn, Singer and Preacher Judy Jacobs hosted by Pastor George Cope and Calvary Assembly in Winter Park, Fl.

The combination of the production facilities and the Holy Land Experience offers Orlando visitors a powerful and unique faith based experience that can be promoted worldwide through the TBN network. The promotional capability can drive visitors to the complex.

"Some of the staff was asking what is going to be the immediate effect here at the park and my answer was 'I'm planning on you having more people coming through the turnstiles this summer,'" said Crouch. "Universal Studios does the same thing. We want the 'Holy Land Experience' to be a faith-based version of that."

About TBN
TBN is the world's largest religious network and America's most watched faith network. Each day TBN offers 24 hours of commercial-free inspirational programming that appeals to people in a wide variety of denominations. Beginning in 1973 as a single UHF station in southern California, TBN now reaches every major continent via 65 satellites and more than 12,500 television and cable affiliates worldwide. In the United States, TBN is available to 92 percent of the total households. Its website receives more than 27 million visitors monthly. For more information on TBN, visit www.tbn.org

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WDC MEDIA NEWS
Christian News and Media Agency

Some NBC Affiliates Closing the Book on Daniel

By Allie Martin and Jody Brown --- Agape Press

2006-01-15 -- WDC Media News -- WDC Newswire A pastor and Christian activist in the Midwest says he’s disappointed and surprised that believers in the area weren’t more vocal in their protest over a controversial new TV series. Last week NBC affiliate KSNW-TV in Wichita, Kansas, decided not to air the premiere episode of The Book of Daniel after receiving hundreds of protests. But station management opted to air the Friday night program after getting deluged with hundreds of counter-protests. The program, which has been lambasted by pro-family groups across the nation, features a pill-popping Episcopal priest who has a drug-dealing daughter and a homosexual son, as well as what Focus on the Family calls a "sardonic" depiction of the character of Jesus. Rev. Terry Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, helped to lead local opposition to the series. Convinced of Hollywood’s hostility toward Christianity -- he says Tinseltown would never air a show degrading clergy of another faith -- Fox says Christians are called to take stands on relevant social issues. "I think about the scripture in 2 Timothy, Chapter Four, where God’s Word commands preachers to take a stand and to preach the Word, not just the gospel," the pastor says. "In our culture today, everybody says, ’Well, just preach the gospel.’ Well, we certainly want to do that; but the Bible says ’preach the Word’ -- and that means all of the Bible." Fox contends that preachers who do that are going to encounter controversy. "You’re going to have to preach against things like this [television show and things like] homosexuality and abortion and life issues," he states. But he suggests that not all Christian clergy are doing that. In fact, he says too many Christians are being influenced by well-known ministers who do not preach about social or moral issues. "We have got to awaken pastors," he emphasizes. "I think if we can awaken the pastors in the pulpit and get those alive, then hopefully the pews will wake up, because we are truly in trouble in this culture." Referring to the local reaction to The Book of Daniel, Fox says "just from the number of protests that we’re getting, I’m wondering, where are the Christians? I still feel we are the majority, but we’re the silent majority." Losing Advertisers, Losing Stations Neilson ratings showed the new program had low ratings for an inaugural episode. In fact, it placed third in its time slot behind CBS and ABC among viewers between the ages of 18 and 49. That may be the result of the efforts of groups like the American Family Association, which weeks before the first installment began urging its supporters to contact local NBC affiliates to refuse to broadcast the program. AFA president Tim Wildmon says sponsors are responding to complaints from viewers. "If they hear from listeners, if they hear from supporters, from potential customers, then they’re going to be sensitive to that," Wildmon asserts. "Advertisers generally want to be your friend, so they don’t want to offend their customers or potential customers by being on programs that are extremely offensive." AFA also encouraged Christians nationwide -- if they chose to view the program -- to follow up by contacting local advertisers and voicing their objection to their sponsorship of The Book of Daniel. According to the pro-family group, only five national advertisers placed ads for the premiere -- and four of those have already said they will not sponsor future episodes. AFA says Burlington Coat Factory is the only national advertiser remaining as a sponsor. AFA founder and chairman, Donald Wildmon, does not appear surprised by that fact. "Burlington is a buzzard buyer," the AFA founder says in a press release. "They absolutely don’t care about the content as long as they get it at a nickel on the dollar." He adds that Burlington "would probably sponsor porn if the price is right." In addition, more stations are announcing they plan to drop the program from their lineup. Joining that list of stations, says AFA, are network affiliates in Amarillo, Texas, and in Nashville, Tennessee. The general manager of Nashville’s WSMV-TV is quoted as saying that after reviewing the first three episodes, the station determined that The Book of Daniel was "not appropriate for broadcast television in this community." Stations in Terre Haute, Indiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Beaumont, Texas; and Tupelo and Meridian, Mississippi, dropped the show earlier. And according to AFA, another NBC affiliate -- this one in Hattiesburg -- is considering dropping the show as well. Donald Wildmon says he expects other affiliates to drop the show, and he is hopeful NBC will "pull the plug" before it airs all eight episodes.

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