MTV postpones launch of gay channel

MTV has delayed plans to launch a US TV channel for the LGBT community.

LOGO was due to hit the airwaves on February 17, but will now debut over four months later - June 30 - to an estimated 10 million households. Channel president Brian Graden said the delay was required to get the programming lineup just right.

"Until I got deeper into the planning for Logo, I hadn't realised the degree of pent-up demand there is for this channel," he told Reuters. "I want it to come out with a complete and diverse slate, so that every gay and lesbian person can look at it and say, 'Oh, there I am."'

Among the planned shows are comedy-drama Noah's Arc, which follows a struggling gay black screenwriter; reality series Cruise, featuring several couples on a gay cruise ship bound for the Caribbean; and documentary In the Name of Allah, a look at gays and lesbians from Muslim backgrounds. The new announcements add to an extensive lineup detailed last July.

Carriage for LOGO has already been secured on Time Warner Cable in Manhattan, RCN and Atlantic Broadband. The network is also in "final negotiations" with Comcast Corp., the largest cable-system operator in the US.