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The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, political opinion commentary, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features world news stories plus investigative reporting by the CBN News team.
The 700 Club has been in production since 1966 and was initially hosted by Jim Bakker, now hosted by Gordon Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Ashley Key, Wendy Griffith and Andrew Knox. Previous co-hosts include Pat Robertson (1966–1987; 1988–2021), Ben Kinchlow (1975–1988, 1992–1996), Sheila Walsh (1987–1992), Danuta Rylko Soderman (1983–1988), Kristi Watts (1999–2013), and Lisa Ryan (1996–2005). Tim Robertson served as host for a year (1987–88) along with Kinchlow and actress Susan Howard, while Pat Robertson ran unsuccessfully for President in the 1988 campaign.
In 1960, Pat Robertson, the son of former U.S. Senator Absalom Willis Robertson, purchased the license for WTOV-TV, channel 27 in Portsmouth, Virginia (unrelated to the current WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio), which had ceased operation because of poor viewership. Renamed WYAH-TV (known today as independent station WGNT), the station began broadcasting Christian programming to the Hampton Roads area on October 1, 1961.
In 1962, the station suffered financially and almost closed. It had a total operating budget of $700 per month. To keep the station on the air, WYAH produced a special telethon edition of the show. For the telethon, Robertson set a goal of 700 members each contributing $10 per month (equivalent to $104 in 2024), which was enough to support the station. Robertson referred to these members as the "700 Club" and the name stuck. The telethon was successful and is still held annually.
After the telethon in 1966, The 700 Club continued as a nightly, two-hour Christian variety program of music, preaching, group prayer, Bible study, and interview segments. The music was hymns, instrumental pieces, southern gospel music, and urban gospel music.[citation needed]
The first permanent host of the program was Jim Bakker, who, along with his then-wife Tammy Faye Bakker, also hosted a children's show on WYAH called Come On Over (later retitled Jim and Tammy). The couple left CBN in 1972; reportedly, Jim Bakker was fired by Pat Robertson over philosophical differences. The Bakkers then moved on to help launch the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) before starting their own television ministry and signature show, The PTL Club. After the Bakkers left, some staffers at the station reportedly responded by destroying the Bakkers' sets and puppets. Pat Robertson took over as host and evolved his 700 Club by cutting back on music and preaching and heading toward the talk show format developed by Bakker. Robertson transformed the 700 Club from a nightly religious-themed telethon to a Christian talk show.
The 700 Club originally aired only on WYAH-TV and other CBN-owned stations in Atlanta (WANX-TV) and Dallas (KXTX-TV), and later Boston (WXNE-TV). The program entered national syndication in 1974, as CBN purchased airtime on stations such as WPIX in New York City, KTLA in Los Angeles, WPHL-TV in Philadelphia, and WDCA in Washington, D.C., among others. The roster of stations carrying the program grew to over 100 markets by 1976. In some markets, the show aired on multiple stations, choosing between either the full 90-minute version or an edited 60-minute version. In 1977, The 700 Club received additional exposure nationally on the newly launched CBN Cable Network where, like CBN's broadcast outlets, it aired three times daily. [citation needed]
In 1979, The 700 Club moved its studios from WYAH's facilities in Portsmouth into CBN's then-new campus in neighboring Virginia Beach, from where the program continues to originate. During the 1980s, the show evolved into more of a format resembling a magazine show like Group W's PM Magazine, with news/opinion and lifestyle segments interspersed with interviews. In some markets, The 700 Club aired during the morning hours, competing head-to-head with the major network "breakfast television" programs such as NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. [citation needed]
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The 700 Club
The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, political opinion commentary, contemporary music, testimonies, and Christian ministry. Celebrities and other guests are often interviewed, and Christian lifestyle issues are presented. The program additionally features world news stories plus investigative reporting by the CBN News team.
The 700 Club has been in production since 1966 and was initially hosted by Jim Bakker, now hosted by Gordon Robertson, Terry Meeuwsen, Ashley Key, Wendy Griffith and Andrew Knox. Previous co-hosts include Pat Robertson (1966–1987; 1988–2021), Ben Kinchlow (1975–1988, 1992–1996), Sheila Walsh (1987–1992), Danuta Rylko Soderman (1983–1988), Kristi Watts (1999–2013), and Lisa Ryan (1996–2005). Tim Robertson served as host for a year (1987–88) along with Kinchlow and actress Susan Howard, while Pat Robertson ran unsuccessfully for President in the 1988 campaign.
In 1960, Pat Robertson, the son of former U.S. Senator Absalom Willis Robertson, purchased the license for WTOV-TV, channel 27 in Portsmouth, Virginia (unrelated to the current WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio), which had ceased operation because of poor viewership. Renamed WYAH-TV (known today as independent station WGNT), the station began broadcasting Christian programming to the Hampton Roads area on October 1, 1961.
In 1962, the station suffered financially and almost closed. It had a total operating budget of $700 per month. To keep the station on the air, WYAH produced a special telethon edition of the show. For the telethon, Robertson set a goal of 700 members each contributing $10 per month (equivalent to $104 in 2024), which was enough to support the station. Robertson referred to these members as the "700 Club" and the name stuck. The telethon was successful and is still held annually.
After the telethon in 1966, The 700 Club continued as a nightly, two-hour Christian variety program of music, preaching, group prayer, Bible study, and interview segments. The music was hymns, instrumental pieces, southern gospel music, and urban gospel music.[citation needed]
The first permanent host of the program was Jim Bakker, who, along with his then-wife Tammy Faye Bakker, also hosted a children's show on WYAH called Come On Over (later retitled Jim and Tammy). The couple left CBN in 1972; reportedly, Jim Bakker was fired by Pat Robertson over philosophical differences. The Bakkers then moved on to help launch the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) before starting their own television ministry and signature show, The PTL Club. After the Bakkers left, some staffers at the station reportedly responded by destroying the Bakkers' sets and puppets. Pat Robertson took over as host and evolved his 700 Club by cutting back on music and preaching and heading toward the talk show format developed by Bakker. Robertson transformed the 700 Club from a nightly religious-themed telethon to a Christian talk show.
The 700 Club originally aired only on WYAH-TV and other CBN-owned stations in Atlanta (WANX-TV) and Dallas (KXTX-TV), and later Boston (WXNE-TV). The program entered national syndication in 1974, as CBN purchased airtime on stations such as WPIX in New York City, KTLA in Los Angeles, WPHL-TV in Philadelphia, and WDCA in Washington, D.C., among others. The roster of stations carrying the program grew to over 100 markets by 1976. In some markets, the show aired on multiple stations, choosing between either the full 90-minute version or an edited 60-minute version. In 1977, The 700 Club received additional exposure nationally on the newly launched CBN Cable Network where, like CBN's broadcast outlets, it aired three times daily. [citation needed]
In 1979, The 700 Club moved its studios from WYAH's facilities in Portsmouth into CBN's then-new campus in neighboring Virginia Beach, from where the program continues to originate. During the 1980s, the show evolved into more of a format resembling a magazine show like Group W's PM Magazine, with news/opinion and lifestyle segments interspersed with interviews. In some markets, The 700 Club aired during the morning hours, competing head-to-head with the major network "breakfast television" programs such as NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America. [citation needed]