Daystar Television Network

Daystar Television Network

Type	Religious broadcasting
Country	United States
Availability	National (broadcast, cable, satellite); Worldwide (satellite)
Owner	Word of God Fellowship
Key people	Marcus Lamb (founder, president, CEO) Joni Lamb (vice-president, executive producer)
Launch date	December 31, 1997
Website www.daystar.com

The Daystar Television Network is a Christian television network headquartered near Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Bedford, Texas. Daystar's founders are Marcus Lamb and his wife, Joni Lamb.

Programming

Daystar's original programming includes Celebration, an hour-long daily talk show hosted by Daystar founders Marcus and Joni Lamb. The show includes performances by Joni and the "Daystar Singers" as well as a visiting Christian singer or band, as well as interviews with Christian leaders and preachers. Joni Lamb also hosts her own half-hour talk show called Joni, which includes additional interviews. A teen-geared music show called Soundcheck is hosted by Joni and Marcus' kids. This program features artists performing on stage and then doing interviews with the hosts. Occasionally, Daystar will air specials featuring the Lambs at church speaking engagements. Daystar also airs a week-long, semi-annual telethon called a "Share-a-thon."

The majority of Daystar's affiliate stations are located in the American South. It 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 company offers Christian programming 24/7. The Daystar network is composed of 2 VHF and 36 UHF television stations, which each broadcast all or part of Daystar's program lineup.

Daystar shows, "Joni" and "Celebration" can also be viewed in Canada on cable systems that carry Grace TV. However Grace TV carries "Joni" twice a week and "Celebration" once a week.

The majority of Daystar's broadcasts are from groups and individuals aligned with various charismatic and Pentecostal movements. It airs programs from many of the same televangelists, such as Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland, as does Trinity Broadcasting Network. The Daystar network also airs programs from people such as David Reagan, Zola Levitt, Kerry Shook, Sid Roth, Jack Graham, Hal Lindsey and the Pensacola Christian College program Rejoice in the Lord which is directly opposed to the charismatic movement as a whole.

The network has aired childrens' animated shows from various studios. A recent episode of Celebration focused on their first original animated childrens' special called The Cheesy Adventures of Captain Mac A. Roni.

Criticism

Daystar is currently under investigation by the Federal Communications Commission, centering on allegations that Daystar has sold air time on its non-commercial educational stations to for-profit groups. The act of selling non-commercial air-time is a violation of FCC rules regulating NCE-licensed stations. The investigation, started in 2003, previously complicated Daystar's $21.5M bid for KOCE-TV, a PBS-member station in Orange County, California^[1][2] and other license renewals.

After a lengthy process Daystar and KOCE-TV eventually came into agreement. KOCE-TV agreed to sell a portion of their digital bandwidth to Daystar Television Network allowing them to broadcast 24/7 via KOCE-DT into Orange County, California. For the purposes of settling the investigation, on December 22, 2008, the FCC and Daystar entered into an agreement in which Daystar would work closely with the Commission to solidify and maintain their Compliance Plan. According to the Compliance 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 voluntarily contribution to the US Treasury of $17,500.^[3]

Daystar is also facing controversy in Israel, where it became the first foreign Christian network to be granted a broadcasting license by the Israeli government in 2006. The announcement drew criticism from Jewish leaders in both Israel and the United States, who believed the network aimed at converting Jews in Israel through its numerous Messianic Jewish programs. In 2007, the Israeli cable provider HOT announced it would drop Daystar from its lineup, depriving the American ministry of one million Israeli households. HOT claimed that the decision was made after the company received numerous complaints about Daystar's content. Daystar announced it would file a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to hear the case, accusing HOT of religious discrimination.^[4]

Affiliates

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

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Logos

Daystar logo from 2000-2007

Daystar logo from 2007-Present

References

External links

• Official Site
• Click Here to Watch the Daystar Television Network Live
• Glorystar Satellite Systems - Official North American Satellite Equipment Distributor