Money Matters, Simplified.
GLAAD ranks HBO the gayest network on TV
by Natalie James - July 27, 2009 - comments
After reviewing more than 6,000 hours of primetime programming on 15 major broadcast and cable networks, GLAAD assigned grades of excellent, good, adequate, or failing to each network
Los Angeles, July 27: HBO has taken the highest ranking in the third annual Network Responsibility Index released on Monday by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Associated Press reports.
After reviewing more than 6,000 hours of primetime programming on 15 major broadcast and cable networks, GLAAD assigned grades of excellent, good, adequate, or failing to each network. While NBC and CBS got a "failing" grade, four networks were rated "good," led by HBO. None earned the top "excellent" ranking.
HBO takes the lead
Among the five major broadcasts and ten of the highest-rated cable networks, HBO took the lead in GLAAD’s this year's Index, issued July 27, thanks to its shows such as "True Blood", "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" and "Entourage".
The Index shows that 42 percent of HBO's prime-time programming hours last season featured lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people, which is 16 percent more than last year.
According to GLAAD’s annual report that evaluates the quantity, quality and diversity of images of LGBT people on television, of HBO's 14 original series broadcasted between June 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009, 10 included content that reflected the lives of gay, bisexual and transgender people, far more than any of the 14 other cable and broadcast networks studied by GLAAD.
Shows like "True Blood" and "Entourage" featured the "complex and authentic LGBT characters from diverse backgrounds" that helped propel HBO to the highest ranking, according to the study.
Other networks in the Index
Cable’s Showtime came in second place, with 26 percent, thanks to its series like "The L Word," "Weeds" and "The United States of Tara" that featured gay characters or themes.
ABC was the highest-placing broadcast network for the second year in a row with 24 percent of its total programming hours included representation of LGBT characters or themes in shows like “Brothers and Sisters”, “Desperate Housewives” and “Grey’s Anatomy”.
The other networks in the Index include the CW with 20 percent and Fox with 11 percent, while NBC and CBS lagged behind with just eight percent and five percent, respectively, of their programming featuring LGBT content.
"Overall, we saw positive signs in the inclusion of LGBT characters on television," said Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs at GLAAD. "ABC continues to do well, HBO is stepping up in diversity, and we hope that CBS and NBC will be able to better reflect the American scenes on their shows."