TV evangelist Robert A. Schuller is also a venture capitalist and the VC fund he co-founded, ComStar Media Fund LLC, is now the proud owner of AmericanLife TV Network. The cable outlet aimed at the baby boomer generation will also give Schuller a new preaching platform.
Robert A. Schuller has been in need of a television outlet since his father, Robert H. Schuller, fired him in December as Senior Pastor at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA and featured preacher on “The Hour of Power” broadcast. Now, the younger Schuller is in control of his own television network.
“Having been on television for 32 years, I’ve witnessed first-hand the decline of family-values programming in America. I’m looking forward to pioneering a new definition of ‘family-values’ programming that speaks to all generations. As for my regular viewers on ‘The Hour of Power,’ I encourage you to call your cable or satellite provider to get ALN as not to miss the Fall debut of my new series. I can assure you, it won’t be like anything else on television today,” Schuller said.
ComStar Media Fund LLC, co-founded by Schuller and President/CEO Chris Wyatt, acquired ALN from the Unification Church and some private investment funds. Terms were not disclosed.
“We are not creating another religious network but rather a family-values channel. We’ve tapped into a huge underserved market and have the opportunity over time to increase distribution to exceed 40 million homes. As the founder and former CEO of GodTube.com, one of the fastest growing website’s of 2007, I have experience to apply to achieve this type of growth in cable and satellite distribution,” said Wyatt.
Among the assets purchased by ComStar through the acquisition are ALN’s more than 12.7 million subscribers, a library of over 700 hours of original programming, as well as its distribution base. ComStar said it expects to leverage these assets to grow subscribers and to use in ancillary opportunities.
RBC Daniels represented AmericanLife TV in the transaction.
