Many Dish Network subscribers have wondered why the satellite service pulled the plug on HERE! TV, which it once offered, and why LOGO has never been offered at all.

Our friends at Queers United raised that very question in this blog post. Within that post is a link to another Queers United post in which it’s revealed that Dish Network’s board voted down a company anti-discrimination policy by a shocking 90% margin!

Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergin says the anti-discrimination policy is not necessary, since LGBTs are not being harassed at the company. Ergin further points out that the Colorado-based Dish Network follows the laws of its home state, which already bars anti-LGBT discrimination.

Queers United feels that the company should have voted Yes on the bill as a show of good faith.

And everyone wants to know why Dish Network, which offers more than a dozen Christian channels, offers neither of the gay networks.

So is Dish Network anti-gay?

“No,” says Dish press rep Parker McConachie, who not only returned my calls, but was quite friendly. Friendly, but cautious, when he offered this official statement: “Dish Network is not discriminating against the gay community. However, we do not comment on current or future contract negotiations.”

HERE! TV did not respond to a TWO email, but LOGO did. The MTV-owned LOGO revealed that it was in negotiations with Dish Network and urged interested viewers to contact Dish Network and request the channel. But LOGO offered no information on the status of the negotiations.

There are definite questions regarding Dish Network’s inclusion/exclusion of the LGBT community that need answering. If the service does begin providing LOGO, then some of those questions will be answered.

To be fair, it should be pointed out that Dish Network is the sole national carrier for Free Speech TV, perhaps the most radical, far-left network on the air. Free Speech TV is the home of Gay USA, the first, and only weekly hard news show on American television (Gay USA can also be viewed online at the Free Speech website: www.FreeSpeech.org). Free Speech TV has also offered exclusive airings of many fine LGBT-themed documentaries, so the Dish cupboard isn’t completely bare.

But subscribers want to know: when will they get LOGO? And when will HERE! TV return?

To request these channels, or to comment on the Board’s decision to not sign an anti-discrimination policy, please contact Dish Network through its website: www.DishNetwork.com

David Alex Nahmod lives in San Francisco. Visit him at: DavidsOpenForum.Blogspot.com

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