Dove Awards take flight to new television home

By Deborah Evans Price

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - After bouncing around on various networks and in syndication, the Gospel Music Assn.'s (GMA) Dove Awards have landed a new TV home on the Gospel Music Channel, an Atlanta-based cable network airing Christian/gospel music content 24 hours a day.

The multiyear agreement begins with the 2008 Doves, which will be broadcast live April 23 from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House. GMC has committed to multiple additional airings of the program as well as developing other programming around the awards show, such as a new series leading up to the event, "The Road to the Doves."

"The Dove Awards celebrate all styles, much like the Gospel Music Channel," GMC founder/president Charles Humbard said. "We share a very similar mission and values with them."

GMA president/CEO John Styll also sees the two entities as compatible. "The programming philosophy of GMC is very similar to the GMA philosophy," he said. "Any kind of faith-based music, regardless of the style, is what the GMA embraces, and that's what the Gospel Music Channel embraces. They define gospel as anything from contemporary Christian to a black choir to a Southern quartet to a punk band. So does the GMA, so there's a good editorial fit."

The last time the Doves aired live was in 2002 on the PAX network. In recent years, the program has aired in syndication. "It's been hard staying in one place. Networks change. The PAX network is a different network now. The Family Channel is a different network now. TNN is a different network now," Styll said. "I think we're a little bit of a square peg in a round hole in some ways, and we're aware that this is a very different kind of show for most networks to air. It's a challenge."

GMC launched in 2004. According to Humbard, the network will be in 45 million homes by the end of this year, and is the fastest-growing cable network. Comparable to CMT, MTV, VH1, GAC and other music-driven channels, GMC offers Christian/gospel music fans a place to see the genres' established and up-and-coming talent.

Industry insiders are pleased that the show will be live this year, offering greater visibility and better marketing opportunities. "Unlike years past, no one is going to know who won until they watch. An awards show needs the drama," Humbard said. When the awards show was syndicated, media attending the event announced the winners before its airing.

This year's nominees in the artist of the year category are Casting Crowns, the Clark Sisters, Natalie Grant, Point of Grace, Skillet, Chris Tomlin and tobyMac. Casting Crowns frontman Mark Hall is the year's most-nominated artist with six nods, including male vocalist and song of the year.