Faith & Values Media
| Vision Interfaith Satellite Network | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Launched | July 1, 1988 |
| Owned by | National Interfaith Cable Coalition |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Replaced by | Faith & Values Channel Odyssey Hallmark Channel |
The Vision Interfaith Satellite Network (VISN) was an American religious cable and satellite television network that was owned by the interfaith group National Interfaith Cable Coalition, in cooperation with cable operators. The channel became known as the "PBS of religion" for the inclusive nature of its programming, which was designed to "place its accent on dialogue rather than apologies."
In 1992, VISN began sharing channel space with a similarly formatted cable network, the American Christian Television System, with the two being co-branded under the name VISN-ACTS. The unified channel later evolved into the Faith & Values Channel and Odyssey, before eventually relaunching (with minimal religious content) as the Hallmark Channel in 2001 following its purchase by Crown Media Holdings. Throughout the latter portion of the 1990s, the channel hosted a continuously diminishing roster of religious programming.
VISN was founded in late 1987 by the National Interfaith Cable Coalition (NICC). The NICC was an interfaith foundation created to provide programming and guidance to VISN. Many of the initial members of the NICC were also members of the National Council of Churches, whose membership had experienced trouble keeping airtime for local religious programming following media deregulation in the 1980s. Startup costs for VISN were covered by several cable providers; spearheaded by Tele-Communications Inc., early financial backers of the channel included American Television & Communications, United Cable, Jones Intercable, Post-Newsweek Cable and Heritage Communications. The network was owned by the NICC and Liberty Media, a subsidiary of Tele-Communications Inc. Although the network was advertiser-supported, it disallowed on-air solicitation during its programming.
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