November 2015

include various gaming devices
such other types of gaming
devices like X-Box, the Amazon
Fire, Apple TV and so many
other options. Pretty much anywhere
you will find Netflix, you
will also be able to find the Dove
Channel.
Do you anticipate any competition
with other channels that
may be considered
somewhat family-friendly?
(such as Hallmark channel)?
Not really. Obviously everybody
is going to try in their own way
to appeal to the family audience.
Even Netflix tries to develop a
category for kids. Unfortunately,
I don’t agree with their standards.
I wouldn’t allow my kids to
subscribe to Netflix for kids. We
have a different set of standards
than even the Hallmark channel,
I think. There are some Hallmark
approved movies that would not
necessarily be Dove approved.
One of the things that we’re
doing is creating a walled garden
– a safe place where families
can subscribe to our service and
feel free to make the content
available to all family members.
For that purpose, we’ve actually
created a segmentation system
so that once a person becomes
a member, they can go in and
select a category of films that
appeal to their own tastes.
For example, if they want only
family-friendly they can make
that available for all ages for
their kids, they can select that
category and they can protect
that with a password so that
the kids can watch only those
movies that mom and dad feel
are appropriate for them. Yet,
mom and dad can still watch
content with a more mature subject.
So we’ve provided families an
opportunity to take control of their
entertainment choices which
is something that the people I
talked to in my own family, we
really look forward to being able
to do that.
Is there a difference between
“family-friendly” and “wholesome”?
Well, the term wholesome is a
term that can be interpreted by a
lot of different people. Even family-friendly
can be interpreted differently
by a lot of people. The
Dove Foundation has created
strict criteria for what we call
family-approved, which is content
that will receive our Dove
Seal of approval. So we have
very specific and very strict
content rules that apply to the
definition family-approved.
“Faith-friendly” entertainment
includes programs that highlight
values that we as believers
hold dear. How much of
the programming featured
on the Dove Channel will be
“faith-friendly” as opposed to
just “family-approved”?
Right now the content is going
to be pretty much 50-50. About
half of it will be family-approved,
and half of it will be faith-friendly.
Only a small portion will be in the
more intense faith-based category.
According to your National
Opinion Poll, “93% believe
that offensive material seen
in TV, movies, and the internet
is on the rise.” Is this your
belief, and what can be done
to actively counter that?
Well, yes. I think it’s pretty commonly
known that Hollywood
has kind of lost its grip on the
family. And The Dove Foundation
and other organizations are
trying to persuade them to provide
more content that meets
our standards and that families
consider to be safe. We’re
having some influence in that
Hollywood is beginning to listen
to the faith audience and the
family audience.
For example, as recently as two
or three years ago, there were
only two faith-based movies
out in theaters. Next year, there
will be 15 faith-based films in
the theaters, so we’re having
some impact. The problem is
for families at home to be able
to find those movies and by
gaining access to them. Maybe
they can’t afford to go to the
theater and spend $10 to $12
per person. For a family of five
that gets pretty expensive. So
by providing the Dove Channel,
we’re offering the opportunity, for
$5.00 a month, for families to be
able to watch as much wholesome
entertainment as they
wish.
What is your opinion about
movies and programming that
represents a certain “faithbased”
characteristic, but
is not true to scripture? For
example, with the movie Noah
– the director seemed more
interested in getting his own
message across instead of
telling the story how it was.
What category would you
place a movie like that in?
I would call Noah Science Fiction,
I would not call it a Bible
story. Unfortunately, Darren
Aronofsky the director, not only
offended Christians, but he