Here are some more details about Nine’s new channel GEM, and the first look at it’s logo.
UPDATED: The channel will appear from Midday September 24, but the 26th is its actual launch date. It is now confirmed that the channel will be on LCN digital channel 90. As was the case with GO, regional areas in the eastern states that get Nine content via NBN or WIN should get the new channel at the same time.
NINE ANNOUNCES A NEW GEM
Following on from the outstanding success of the GO! multi-channel, the Nine Network today announced plans for a third channel, GEM, which will launch on Sunday, September 26 aimed at the sophisticated, discerning viewer.
GEM will be a mix of new content, classic comedies, cherished drama series, all-time favorite movies, and all of Nine’s sport coverage in high definition.
GEM is designed to complement Nine’s premium channel, and the network’s number one multi-channel, GO!, attracting females 35+ and grocery buyers.
Leading the GEM lineup is the acclaimed new US drama series The Big C, starring Laura Linney as a woman making the most of her life after being diagnosed with cancer. Also starring Oliver Platt and Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe, The Big C’s recent premiere achieved record ratings for the US Showtime network.
The cult favourite Weeds will also be seen on GEM in a new season. Other first-run imports include Southland, Miami Medical, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and the lifestyle programs Wife Swap, Secret Millionaire USA, The Chopping Block USA and How Clean Is Your House?
Also on GEM will be a new season of Random Acts of Kindness (previously seen on Nine) featuring Shelley Craft, Scott Cam, Dr Andrew Rochford and Simmone Jade Mackinnon, treating everyday Australians to well-deserved rewards.
Rounding out the schedule will be the classic comedy Friends, stripped to air every week night, Aussie gold dramas McLeod’s Daughters, Sea Patrol and The Alice, and the hit US crime shows CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, The Closer and Cold Case, along with great movies such as Million Dollar Baby, The Aviator, 21 Grams and Being Julia.
Nine CEO David Gyngell said GEM would build on the network’s tearaway success with the GO! channel, which by a big margin is Australia’s most popular multi-channel across the key demographics and total people. “GEM is what its title suggests – a general entertainment and movie channel, carefully crafted and targeted like GO! before it, to appeal to a wide audience cross-section and complement Nine’s existing successful brands,” Mr Gyngell said.
GEM will also include news and current affairs programs that will be different but complementary to those on the main channel. “We have a very significant investment in news and current affairs and some of that content will be repackaged to the style of GEM,” Mr Gyngell said.
High definition sport will be seen on GEM until the digital switchover in December 2013.
To receive GEM from September 26, viewers need to tune in to channel 90 on an HD-capable digital TV, PVR or set top box. If you have an analogue television you will need to connect your old TV to an HD-capable digital set top box, PVR, or digital recorder and tune in to channel 90.
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