Clearing the Airwaves

Bob Johnson has a problem with television. He has a problem with sexually explicit content, graphic depictions of violence and the liberal use of expletives in primetime shows. Think condom jokes on Friends. Routine use of the word b***s*** on NYPD Blue. Breast baring at the Super Bowl. Rape, murder, drug use; the list goes on.

But rather than merely voice his outrage at television programming, which in the last few decades has strayed increasingly away from the notion of family hour, Johnson took matters into his own hands. Determined to reclaim moral ground in the entertainment industry, in 1981 Johnson founded Sky Angel Network, a satellite television provider with programming geared specifically toward a Christian audience. Since 1996, Sky Angel has had its corporate headquarters on South Horseshoe Drive in Naples and has been broadcasting nationwide. Plans are under way to build a large corporate campus near Alligator Alley.

Johnson first came to Naples in 1975, intent on buying a car dealership as a side business to his successful market research firm in Detroit. Like many first-time visitors, he says, "I fell in love with the place," and he moved his family down in 1976. "My family was still young at the time," he says, "and I was searching for something to do with my life that had some meaning. I'd been successful in business and had made my fortune, but I wanted something more."

In a Christian businessmen's group in Naples, Johnson says, "I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and it changed my life. I was a businessman, not a TV guy, but it was a call that God put on my life to do this."

Through Christian TV, he says, he began to see that there was something more he could do with his life than just make money. "Naples took me away from the busy business lifestyle I had in Michigan," says Johnson. "When I was here, I had time to spend with my family, think, contemplate and pray. The move changed our lives."

Johnson first became involved in Christian television in 1980, when he worked for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) and commuted back and forth between Naples and Lynchburg, Va. At CBN, Johnson began to see what he believes is the core problem with Christian television-production companies could produce wholesome, family-oriented programs to their heart's content, but without an effective distribution system, no one could tune in. "Beginning in 1980 or '81," says Johnson, "the secular gatekeepers at the major networks began a pattern of programming that was explicitly sexual and violent. The type of programs we were putting on-family oriented with Christian values-was in short supply, because of a lack of interest by distributors." Although he acknowledges a chicken-and-egg problem-presumably, networks were broadcasting what the American public wanted to see-Johnson still recognized a need for wider distribution of Christian programming.

Johnson left CBN in order to build a television delivery platform that, as he says, "could be controlled by people interested in the kind of programming we're putting on today." At just about the same time, the Federal Communications Commission opened the door for direct broadcast satellite (DBS) technology that allowed satellite broadcast companies to send their signals directly into viewers' homes, circumventing the traditional cable-provider route. Johnson was among the first nine applicants to apply for a license for DBS technology; today he is the sole survivor of that original group. DirecTV, DISH Network, Echostar and Rainbow DBS, all secular networks, followed in subsequent years.

The company opened in a Naples bank building with four employees. Johnson bartered to use two Echostar transponders in exchange for letting Echostar use a few of his direct-broadcast frequencies. When Sky Angel began programming in 1996, there were just eight employees. Today there are 120, and the number is expected to grow along with the new corporate facility. Sky Angel employs engineers, information technology workers, customer service and finance people, and employees with a slew of other duties.

The subscriber base has taken off as well. Sky Angel doesn't disclose the viewership numbers because they're proprietary information. But one trade organization indicates the audience is there.

A 2003 study commissioned by the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, located in Alexandria, Va., showed that 32 percent of subscribers watched religious programming, at least sometimes. Even more tuned into children's programming (60 percent some of the time), which is plentiful at Sky Angel.

Furthermore, ratings companies such as Nielsen and Gallup have determined 23 million households are "interested in this type of programming," says Johnson, referring to family shows.

So attracting viewers has not been a challenge. That came in the early days from the networks. "There was a lot of opposition to this technology," Johnson says.

Another boost came with the advent of digital satellites for broadcast. "Analog had fallen behind," he says.

Since its launch, Sky Angel has provided what Johnson calls "niche programming," appealing to those who want "Christian television, clean family programming without all the sex and violence." And, Johnson says, as network television programming sinks to new lows, Sky Angel's subscriber numbers are rising. "We're experiencing growth from families, and people without families as well," he says. "There is an increasing number of people getting fed up by being shocked by television. Look at the type of thing that happened during the Super Bowl [Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction']. We see similar things 'round the clock, 24/7. Secular TV is so debasing morally, and people want something different, something they can trust. We call ourselves worry-free TV. You can put your kids in front of Sky Angel TV and not worry about being shocked by offensive language or strong violence."

To that end, Sky Angel is working in partnership with the Dove Foundtion, whose mission is to take mainstream movies and edit them for airline viewers; that means no sex, nudity or explicit language or violence. The team's goal is to offer a 24-hour movie channel on the Sky Angel network. Sky Angel is also working with another organization to offer something akin to the History Channel or Discovery Channel, but from a Judeo-Christian perspective. "We are trying to fill a void in American television," says Johnson.

But even Sky Angel's programming is not homogenized to the point of being out of touch with reality. "Violence is part of the human experience," acknowledges Johnson. "But not explicit violence for the sake of violence, and explicit sexual content. MTV is just way over the edge." Sky Angel offers TVU, what he calls "a Christian MTV," aimed at the teenage population and featuring cutting-edge, Christian music. In between music programs, there are discussions about sex, drugs and lifestyle issues. Johnson adds that many of the network's 36 TV and radio channels have programs that deal with marriage counseling, health and fitness, food, and arts and crafts. The difference is that when Sky Angel programs focus on social issues, they do so from a Christian perspective.

Johnson says Sky Angel's mission is well suited to the conservative community of Naples. "Since we've lived here, people have moved to Naples who have been instrumental in helping with this project," he says. "What we're doing fits in well with the culture of Naples." He cites the number of churches and the community's strong religious ethic as pluses for Sky Angel. "Even though we are an international corporation, being located here is helpful in terms of the types of people who live here," says Johnson. "We've found a lot of talented, like-minded people who live here and have come to work for us."

Soon, Johnson and Sky Angel will be employing more like-minded souls. The network acquired 23 acres of land in the Tollgate Commercial Center near I-75, and is waiting for permits to start construction of a major campus and technology center there, comprised of 50 large satellite dishes, TV studios, a corporate office, a 1,500-seat conference center and a private hotel. The campus will take two to three years to complete, and will employ as many as 350 people once construction is finished.

Future programming plans call for more channels and a broader audience appeal, for those who are not necessarily spiritually minded, but who are looking for cleaner programming nonetheless. "We've just begun the mission," says Johnson. "We're past the organizational stage, but we're still in very early stages of development. On a developmental scale of one to 100, we're at about a 10."

Sky Angel has contracts to build satellites and position them around the world and create physical facilities that can produce and deliver the network's message. It's a big, expensive message, says Johnson, citing a contract with Orbital Science Corporation to build multiple satellites. "We're talking hundreds of millions of dollars, not just a few million dollars," he says.

Retirement is not on Johnson's radar, or even on his satellite signal. "I have no plans to stop. I'll be involved until I drop," he says, but adds that by bringing in an increasingly well-educated, experienced and talented group of people, he's now freer to pay attention to the bigger vision of Sky Angel. "Now," he says, "I can concentrate on the mission."