Daystar Television Network

The Daystar Television Network is an American evangelical Christian television religious broadcasting network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas. Its founders are Marcus Lamb and his wife, Joni Lamb.

History

Daystar's roots can be traced back to 1993, when Marcus Lamb and his Word of God Fellowship ministry purchased a formerly defunct UHF station in Dallas called KMPX, broadcasting Christian programming. Marcus is a Georgia native who first began preaching at age 15 and finished Magna Cum Laude from Lee College at age nineteen. In 1982, he married Joni Trammel, and together they began to travel the US, preaching in churches, conventions, and crusades.

In 1984, they moved to Montgomery, Alabama to begin a television station. In less than a year, WMCF-TV 45 became the first full power Christian television station in the state. Marcus and Joni built the station for the next five years. In 1990, Marcus and Joni sold TV 45 to Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), and moved to Dallas, Texas, where, in 1993, the Lamb’s launched their first station in the Dallas market. Channel 29 ran for three years. Then, in 1996, with a large contribution from Kenneth Copeland Ministries, they were able to purchase a station in Colorado, officially turning them into a network. In August 1997, the small staff moved into a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m²) facility that included production studios. On New Year’s Eve, later that year, Daystar was officially launched. The first broadcast featured Bishop T.D. Jakes from the Potter’s House in Dallas.^[1][2]

Since 1993, Daystar facilities have tripled in size, and their broadcast signal reaches 200 countries and 670 million households globally. In 2010, Daystar became the first full time Christian network to build a TV station in Israel.^[3]

Even with monumental growth, Daystar has not escaped the difficulties of the recession. On March 21, 2011, Daystar announced that it planned to downsize its production studios in Ashland, Kentucky; Houston, Texas; and Denver, Colorado, effective the following month; the facilities would continue to be used as transmitters, but not broadcasting centers. The downsizing, with studios run by a limited technical staff, led to layoffs of an unknown number of Daystar employees.

Programming

Daystar’s programming features influential ministers and speakers from around the world. The majority of Daystar's broadcasts are from groups and individuals aligned with various charismatic and Pentecostal movements. It airs paid programs from ministries such as John Hagee, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, David Reagan, Kerry Shook, Sid Roth, Jack Graham, Hal Lindsey, Jonathan Falwell, and the Pensacola Christian College program Rejoice in the Lord. In addition to the paid programmers that air on Daystar, Daystar produces several programs and broadcasts them from their Texas headquarters. These shows feature Marcus and Joni , and their children, as hosts.

• Celebration

Celebration is Daystar's flagship program. It began with the first channel that Marcus and Joni began in Alabama in the late 1980s and continues as a daily one hour show. Celebration uses a talk show format and is hosted by Marcus and Joni Lamb. Celebration is a forum for sharing news about the network, biblical issues, performances by Joni and The Daystar Singers, and interviews with their guests, which have included many influential Christian leaders from both traditional and Charismatic ministries. Among those, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Brian Houston, actor Stephen Baldwin, director Michael Landon Jr., Francine Rivers, former heavy-weight Champion George Foreman, and Joyce Meyer.^[4]

• Joni

Joni Lamb’s daily show, Joni, features Joni and co-hosts who are her personal friends. They come from various backgrounds including professional counselors, ministers, and members of the Daystar Singers. This panel interviews guests from diverse backgrounds. The subjects covered include topics such as Christian spirituality, secular culture, music, health and fitness, marriage enrichment, recovery from various addictions, alternative lifestyles, parenthood, and psychological disorders.^[5]

• Check the Sound

Check the Sound is a half hour program featuring interviews and music for young adults. Airing on Friday and Saturday nights, Marcus and Joni’s three children, Jonathon, Rachel, and Rebecca, host the program in front of a live audience. Often, the program is devoted to airing new Christian music videos. At other times, musicians and bands are brought into the studio for live concerts and interviews, covering topics about music, Christianity, and cultural issues.^[6]

Special Programming

Occasionally, Daystar airs special shows featuring the Lambs at church speaking engagements or broadcasts events such as Christians United for Israel summits. For purposes of fundraising, Daystar airs a week-long, semi-annual telethon called "Share-a-thons". Day Star Is the sponsor of The #81 Blake Koch

Controversies

FCC investigation

In 2003, Daystar underwent investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), centering on allegations that Daystar has sold air time on its non-commercial educational (NCE) stations to for-profit groups. The investigation had complicated Daystar's $21.5M bid for KOCE-TV, a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member public television station in Huntington Beach, California, which at the time mainly served the suburban area of Orange County,^[7][8] and other license renewals.

After a lengthy process Daystar and KOCE-TV eventually came to an agreement where Daystar would lease a digital subchannel of KOCE, and thus broadcast over KOCE-DT3 to bring the network critical coverage in Orange County and further into the Los Angeles market. This agreement continues to the present day, with KOCE since becoming the flagship Los Angeles area member station of PBS in January 2011, replacing KCET.

On December 22, 2008, for the purposes of settling the investigation, the FCC and Daystar entered into an agreement in which the two organizations would work closely together to solidify and maintain a compliance plan. According to the plan, Daystar will continue to utilize a multi-level review process for all content aired and Daystar will make additional good faith efforts to review all content received from content providers prior to the content’s broadcast on Daystar’s NCE stations. In the agreement Daystar will make a *voluntary* contribution of $17,500 to the United States Department of Treasury.^[9]

Israel

Daystar faced controversy in Israel when it became the first foreign Christian network to be given a broadcasting license by its government in 2006. The announcement drew criticism from Jewish leaders in both Israel and the United States, who believed the network aimed at converting Israeli Jews through its numerous Messianic Jewish programs. In 2007, the Israeli cable provider HOT announced it would drop Daystar from its lineup. HOT claimed that the decision was made after the company received complaints about Daystar's content. Daystar filed a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to hear the case, accusing HOT of religious discrimination.^[10]

Lawsuits

On December 1, 2010, Marcus Lamb appeared on Celebration and admitted to having an affair several years prior, telling viewers that unidentified individuals attempted to extort him over it. He also claimed that he had since reconciled with Joni over the matter; the Lambs subsequently appeared on Good Morning America and Dr. Phil to discuss their experiences with marriage counseling.^[11] However, on December 6, former Daystar executive Jeanette Hawkins filed a lawsuit against the network, claiming that her knowledge of the affair caused "great emotional pain".^[12] Daystar filed a counter-suit against Hawkins and two other individuals, claiming the they were part of the extortion scheme.

Lamb's confession and Hawkins' lawsuit sparked a series of legal actions against Daystar. In February 2011, Jennifer Falcon, a former Daystar employee, filed a lawsuit claiming to have suffered sexual harassment by Bill Trammell, Joni Lamb's father and Daystar's administrator of special projects. Falcon further claimed to have been demoted and defamed by the Lambs.^[13] The following month, Karen Thompson, a former producer for Joni, sued Daystar for wrongful termination, claiming to have been harassed and fired for refusing to end a relationship with a younger male co-worker.^[14] Daystar denied the allegations of both lawsuits.

Local police in Bedford, Texas began a criminal investigation into the Lambs' extortion claims, but ended the investigation several days later due to lack of evidence. Jim Fisher, a lawyer representing Hawkins, claimed that the Lambs made the extortion claims after he moved for an out-of-court settlement with the network.^[15] In December 2011, all three plaintiffs dropped their lawsuits against Daystar.^[16]

Availability

Daystar is available on terrestrial and cable television in the United States and worldwide on DBS systems such as DirecTV and DISH Network, and as an unencrypted Free to Air satellite channel. The network is composed of 2 VHF and 36 UHF television stations, which each broadcast all or part of Daystar's program lineup.

Daystar owns a number of television stations nationwide, either directly or through a subsidiary, Word of God Fellowship, Inc. Daystar affiliates include:

• • On April 4, 2011, it was revealed that Daystar had agreed to purchase PBS outlet WMFE-TV (channel 24) in Orlando, Florida for a reported price of $5 million. The transaction is subject to final approval by the Federal Communications Commission.^[17]

International

See also

Daystar Television Network affiliates

References

External links

• Official Site
• Streamed content
• Glorystar Satellite Systems - North American satellite equipment distribution partner