TheBlaze Launches Grassroots Campaign to Prove to TV Operators That Conservative Commentary Is in Demand

TheBlaze is kicking off a major grassroots campaign to bring its programming to networks around the country.

The “Get TheBlaze” campaign, launching Monday, will equip TheBlaze audience with different of ways to reach out to their TV providers and demand they bring TheBlaze to their lineup.

“Since we launched TheBlaze on DISH last fall we have been hearing from the audience asking when TheBlaze will be available on other TV providers,” said Carolyn Polke, president and chief operating officer of TheBlaze. “We are launching Get TheBlaze to provide the audience with the tools to connect directly with TV providers and let their voice be heard.”

Those tools are a special phone number, 1-800-996-BLAZE, and a new website, www.GetTheBlaze.com, that will directly connect people with their providers so they can make their choice known.

“TheBlaze audience is passionate about our programming and they want to watch it on their TV,” Polke said. Get TheBlaze “is about making that demand heard by the TV providers.”

Conservative outlets have historically faced headwinds in putting their programming on America’s television sets. In a typical arrangement, the cable provider will pay the network to carry their programming. But according to Adweek, when Fox News first launched 16 years ago, it was actually the other way around – Fox paid the cable operators to carry their channel.

With 39 percent of the country identifying as conservative and 37 percent as moderate – compared to 23 percent that see themselves as liberal – TheBlaze believes that’s a segment worth hearing from.

“We believe that TheBlaze should be a part of every pay TV lineup in America, but providers need to hear from their customers before making that commitment,” said Chris Balfe, president and chief operating officer of Glenn Beck’s Mercury Radio Arts. “Get TheBlaze is about showing providers that this audience is large and engaged, and that adding the channel is the right decision.”

Dave Shull, senior vice president of programming at DISH, said they saw a marked rise in customers after picking up TheBlaze.

“TheBlaze and Glenn Beck bring a unique perspective to DISH’s broad spectrum of political programming on all sides," Shull said. "We had customers sign up quickly, and we saw new customers join DISH. In fact, subscriptions attributable to TheBlaze outpaced our projections by 80 percent, proving that DISH is giving customers what they want with a choice in programming, not to mention the technology to choose how to watch it.”

In a letter to TheBlaze audience, Beck said they deserve to have programming that reflects their values and beliefs.

“You probably pay good money every month to your TV provider for access to channels like MSNBC and Al Jazeera America – channels that you might not watch, or even agree with,” Beck said. “Adding TheBlaze will ensure that you and your family have a source of news and analysis that you can trust and that doesn’t betray your values.”

He said he’s incredibly proud of what TheBlaze – which includes 300,000 online subscribers – has already accomplished, but that only the audience has the power to “break the logjam and expose this network to million of others.”

“If we succeed then we change the media. If we change the media, we control the debate. If we control the debate, we change politics. And if we change politics, we change the country,” Beck said.