Large, established channels, such as CNN, Discovery and TBS, have more than 70 million subscribers apiece, according to Derek Baine, an analyst at Paul Kagan Associates Inc., a Carmel, Calif., media-research firm, and so Mr. Scott's fledgling network faces a tough time luring advertisers. It takes 20 or 30 million before advertisers take you seriously, and they are nowhere near that. Chicken and Egg Mr. Baine says the strategy of linking the cable channel with the Web site is promising. Mr. Baine adds that the channel faces competition from larger, established networks that are adding health programming to their regular fare. The company followed with the heart operation by veteran surgeon Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute.
Plans are afoot for more live transmissions.
In fact, Web Golinkin, the chairman and CEO of the cable division, already credits the Web site with bringing visibility to the network, citing the live birth for sparking interest in the cable channel. They are anxious about issues ranging from impotence and Viagra to caring for their aging parents, he says. One out of 10 start-up companies fails, and the statistics are definitely against us. Lagnado is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau. Inc. All Rights Reserved.