ALN (TV channel)
| Youtoo America | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Launched | February 1, 1985 |
| Owned by | Center Post Networks, LLC |
| Slogan | Red, White and YOU! |
| Headquarters | Arlington, Texas |
| Formerly called |
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| Replaced | America One (on local stations) |
| Website | Official website |
Youtoo America, formerly known as Youtoo TV, AmericanLife TV Network (ALN), GoodLife TV Network, Nostalgia Good TV, Nostalgia Television, Nostalgia Channel and America One, is an American television network launched on February 1, 1985, as a cable channel.
The channel was originally launched as a cable-television channel in February 1985 as The Nostalgia Channel through the efforts of former Our Gang child star George "Spanky" McFarland. The channel featured vintage movies, similar to Turner Classic Movies, which would launch years later. Many of the films were in the public domain.
Michael E. Marcovsky was hired as network head in early 1990. He changed the channel's name to Nostalgia Television, removed movies with poor quality prints (primarily public domain movies), and added lifestyle series as well as vintage TV programs. Also, 100 movies were programmed from the eclectic Janus Collection. At this time, movies were 25% of the programming.
In December 1993, International Family Entertainment, Inc. was bidding against a partnership of Florida-based MOR Music TV Inc. and Arizona-based Gen-She Inc., and 1/3 owner Concept Communications (owned by Unification Church) for the network. Nostalgia Television changed its name to Nostalgia Good TV in 1997.
Nostalgia licensed the Goodlife trademark and changed its name to Goodlife TV in 1998 when Unification Church purchased the rest of the company. Following the expiration of the Goodlife licensing agreement in 2005 with no renewal, the channel changed names again to American Life TV (ALTV).
According to a June 2007 story in Variety, the network had been a consistent money-loser, although the church's tax-exempt status made it easier to absorb the losses. The channel charged TV providers a monthly fee of only between a nickel and a dime for each subscriber, but only had 10 million by 2007. Comcast refused to carry the channel, citing the lack of quality programming (at that time, made up mainly of public domain programming and anachronistic sitcoms and dramas in barter arrangements, long dropped from higher-profile networks) and dropped it from the systems it acquired in the Adelphia bankruptcy as soon as contractually possible. Even despite better programming ( L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere) and equity for carriage, both DirecTV and Dish also refused carriage.
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