GOD TV Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == History == [[File:Rory and Wendy 1.png|thumb|Rory and Wendy Alec in GOD TV's first transmission suite in Newcastle, England.]] GOD TV was founded by [[Rory Alec|Rory]] and [[Wendy Alec]] in England in 1995 as the Christian Channel Europe, the Continent's first daily Christian television network. It started broadcasting on 1 October and was on air for three hours each day, broadcasting between 4am and 7am.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=The Christian Channel Europe the first Christian cable TV channel in the UK is now being aired |url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/news/Christians_On_TV/45021/p1/ |work=Cross Rhythms |date=1 December 1995 }}</ref> This increased to seven hours (4am to 11am) in 1997 and 24-hours in 1999. The 'GOD' logo appeared in 1997 and the Christian Channel was rebranded as the GOD Channel. The GOD Channel became part of the Dream Family Network, later known as GOD Digital and then GOD TV in 2002. The same year GOD TV's broadcast uplink was moved to Israel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.charismamag.com/site-archives/154-peopleevents/people-and-events/762-news-service-briefs |date=31 October 2002 |title='GOD TV' broadcasts from the Holy Land |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Charisma}}</ref> This provided for international expansion via satellite and GOD TV was launched across Africa and Asia with new offices in Cape Town and Chennai. In 2003, a GOD TV office was established in the US in Orlando, FL, and in 2005 GOD TV launched across Australia and New Zealand. GOD TV launched on DIRECTV, America's largest satellite platform in 2006<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Europe's "GOD TV" Expands to the United States |work=Christian Today |date=29 September 2005 |quote=Europe’s Christian broadcaster GOD TV is scheduled to officially launch in the United States on DirectTV on 6 October 2005. }}</ref> and opened a new office in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2008. GOD TV also expanded into China during 2008.<ref name="christiantoday_21694"/> Further offices were opened in Nairobi and Melbourne in 2009. Rory Alec was the network's CEO from 1995 to 2014, when GOD TV announced his resignation due to "moral failure."<ref>{{cite news |last=LeClaire |first=Jennifer |date=2 October 2014 |title=Citing Moral Failure, GOD TV Co-Founder Rory Alec Resigns |url=http://www.charismanews.com/culture/45615-citing-moral-failure-god-tv-co-founder-rory-alec-resigns |work=Charisma News }}</ref> The couple divorced in 2015. Wendy Alec attributed the end of their marriage to [[Satan]] leading her husband to have an affair.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=11 October 2014 |title=God TV founder led astray by the devil |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/god-tv-founder-led-astray-by-the-devil/ |work=The Times of Israel|access-date=12 May 2020 }}</ref> Wendy Alec took over as president and CEO, a position she held for two years, before appointing Ward Simpson. Communications scholar Pradip N. Thomas places the history of GOD TV into the larger context of a [[Neocolonialism|neo-imperialist]] project within [[Christian fundamentalism]], comparing GOD TV's [[Christian Zionism|Christian Zionist]] messages to [[Franklin Graham]]'s travel to wartime [[Baghdad]], which Graham presented as a triumph of Christianity over [[Islam]]. Thomas notes that in India, GOD TV provides a platform for a "closing of ranks" among different Indian Christian groups, allowing an expression of Christian unity which is partly a reaction against [[Hindu nationalism]].<ref name="Thomas2008">{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Pradip Ninan |date=2008 |title=Strong Religion, Zealous Media: Christian Fundamentalism and Communication in India |url=https://epdf.pub/strong-religion-zealous-media-christian-fundamentalism-and-communication-in-indi.html |publisher=SAGE Publications India |pages=15, 130 |isbn=9788178298344}}</ref> In 2014, the network can reach 262 million homes worldwide including 93 million homes in India<ref>{{ cite news |url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/GOD-TV-investment-paves-way-Union-Street-revamp/story-20655693-detail/story.html |title=GOD TV investment paves way for Plymouth Union Street Development |last=Telford |first=William |date=19 February 2014 |access-date=24 September 2015 |work=[[The Herald (Plymouth)]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074753/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/GOD-TV-investment-paves-way-Union-Street-revamp/story-20655693-detail/story.html |archive-date=2015-09-24 |url-status=dead |quote=Mr Scarfe said The channel can reach 262 million homes worldwide, including 92.6 million in India.}}</ref> and employs 200 people<ref>Telford, William.[http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/GOD-TV-investment-paves-way-Union-Street-revamp/story-20655693-detail/story.html 'GOD TV buys former Land Registry property' - "Two hundred people work for GOD TV worldwide, but the core team will be in Plymouth."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074753/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/GOD-TV-investment-paves-way-Union-Street-revamp/story-20655693-detail/story.html |date=24 September 2015}}, ''[[The Herald (Plymouth)]]'', 30 April 2014.</ref> with [[Ward Simpson]] as president and CEO<ref>[http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/60290-two-years-after-rory-alec-s-moral-failure-god-tv-appoints-revival-minded-ceo' - "GOD TV founder Wendy Alec just appointed Ward Simpson as CEO. Simpson's installation is being positioned as a 'new season' for the global network."], Jennifer LeClaire ''[[Charisma (magazine)|Charisma]]'', Lake Mary, FL, 3 October 2016.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page