"It really built our reputation, and that gave birth to the idea of Here Networks," said Colichman, who along with Jarchow says they have to date invested about $40 million of their own money and profit from Regent into the cable network business.
"We realized that if you're self-financed, we had to pick a niche if we were going to truly be successful," Colichman said. "We knew that going head-to-head with the studios, we'd get our head handed to us sooner or later."
Indeed, Colichman faces tough competition in the lucrative gay market, whether it's PlanetOut Inc.'s Gay.com or the advertiser-supported gay cable network Logo, owned by media giant Viacom Inc. Although no one knows the actual size of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender market, one analysis estimates it at 15 million to 16 million adults with a buying power of $712 billion.
Colichman believes Here's competitive edge rests in the quality and diversity of its content -- including original TV series about gay families, movies, documentaries and reality shows -- which is available on video-on-demand services through cable operators such as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable. Nearly 500,000 subscribers pay $7 to $8 a month for the programming.
Much of the content in Here's most popular shows, including the supernatural adult soap opera "Dante's Cove," is highly sexualized. Colichman, however, resents any suggestion that he's peddling soft porn. "It's the same that other premium TV networks like Showtime and HBO are showing."
Among the assets in his pending acquisition of the Advocate from PlanetOut Inc. are three "adult" magazines -- Freshmen, Men and Unzipped -- whose websites link to the e-commerce site BuyGay.com., which sells sex toys and adult videos.
But Colichman says once the acquisition closes that will cease. "We're not going to be selling those things," he said. "That's not our business." He added that he has asked the current owners to remove all adult advertising from the sites. Although Regent will retain the BuyGay.com domain name, it will be used to sell the Advocate and his other publications.
Those who know Colichman laud him for pushing the boundaries. When Waters, known for such films as "Pink Flamingos" and "Polyester," was hired by Here to pick movies for his film anthology series "John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You," Colichman gave him free rein.
"Paul let me do the show the way I wanted and let me pick films that even gay networks may have been alarmed at," said Waters, citing such titles as "Irreversible," a French thriller he calls "the most harrowing movie about rape ever made."
"He was brave to do a gay TV station and he's driven and obsessive in the best sense of the word," Waters said. "He doesn't consider that anything won't work."
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claudia.eller@latimes.com
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Begin text of infobox
Putting it together
Who: Paul Colichman
Age: 46
Job: Co-founder and CEO of Here Networks and Regent Entertainment
Born: Westwood
Residence: Bel-Air
Family: Partnered for 15 years with David, an actor
Education: Bachelor's and MBA degrees, both from UCLA
Hobbies: Restoring historic buildings
Favorite program on rival gay network LOGO: "Exes & Ohs"
