Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Channel J
Manhattan Cable Television's Channel J was a public-access television channel broadcast from New York City from 1976 to 1990. It became famous and controversial for its lack of censorship and its depiction of marginalized communities and taboo themes. As a public access channel, every subscriber to cable television in Manhattan received the channel as part of basic cable service.
Channel J distributed The Emerald City, one of the first television series created by and for LGBTQ people. It also aired straight and gay pornography on shows such as Midnight Blue, The Robin Byrd Show, Men and Films, Blurbs, and Interludes After Midnight, a nude talk show. The channel's robust LGBTQ representation led to the saying "Gay on J."
Other shows that aired on Channel J include The Big Giveaway (New York cable television's first game show), The Live! Show, and The Ugly George Hour of Truth, Sex, and Violence.
Manhattan Cable Television provided free studio space for anyone to use on a first-come, first-served basis. Producers were simply required to pay an hourly rate of $50 for airtime (equivalent to $283 in 2025), with rights to resell the airtime to advertisers.
Channel J has been described as "a funhouse mirror of mainstream network programs" (The Wall Street Journal) and "the Wild West for adult entertainment" (New York Post).
The Big Giveaway was a game show produced by 24-year-old Arnie Rosenthal that allowed subscribers the opportunity to win prizes by participating via telephone. According to The New Yorker, it was the first game show to air on cable television in New York. Rosenthal later started Score on the Financial News Network.
The Emerald City was an American television series and self-proclaimed "world’s first television show for gay men and women" that aired twice weekly on Channel J from 1976 to 1979. It began in New York City and was later syndicated to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Episodes were originally an hour long and then switched to half-hour in the fall of 1977.
The Emerald City was produced by Truth, Justice, and American Way Inc., which was overseen by Gene Stavis (executive producer), Frank O’Dowd (writer-director), James Chladek (co-producer), and Steven Bie, a former lover of O’Dowd (producer, advertising and marketing).
Hub AI
Channel J AI simulator
(@Channel J_simulator)
Channel J
Manhattan Cable Television's Channel J was a public-access television channel broadcast from New York City from 1976 to 1990. It became famous and controversial for its lack of censorship and its depiction of marginalized communities and taboo themes. As a public access channel, every subscriber to cable television in Manhattan received the channel as part of basic cable service.
Channel J distributed The Emerald City, one of the first television series created by and for LGBTQ people. It also aired straight and gay pornography on shows such as Midnight Blue, The Robin Byrd Show, Men and Films, Blurbs, and Interludes After Midnight, a nude talk show. The channel's robust LGBTQ representation led to the saying "Gay on J."
Other shows that aired on Channel J include The Big Giveaway (New York cable television's first game show), The Live! Show, and The Ugly George Hour of Truth, Sex, and Violence.
Manhattan Cable Television provided free studio space for anyone to use on a first-come, first-served basis. Producers were simply required to pay an hourly rate of $50 for airtime (equivalent to $283 in 2025), with rights to resell the airtime to advertisers.
Channel J has been described as "a funhouse mirror of mainstream network programs" (The Wall Street Journal) and "the Wild West for adult entertainment" (New York Post).
The Big Giveaway was a game show produced by 24-year-old Arnie Rosenthal that allowed subscribers the opportunity to win prizes by participating via telephone. According to The New Yorker, it was the first game show to air on cable television in New York. Rosenthal later started Score on the Financial News Network.
The Emerald City was an American television series and self-proclaimed "world’s first television show for gay men and women" that aired twice weekly on Channel J from 1976 to 1979. It began in New York City and was later syndicated to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Episodes were originally an hour long and then switched to half-hour in the fall of 1977.
The Emerald City was produced by Truth, Justice, and American Way Inc., which was overseen by Gene Stavis (executive producer), Frank O’Dowd (writer-director), James Chladek (co-producer), and Steven Bie, a former lover of O’Dowd (producer, advertising and marketing).