Q Television Network (QTN) is now availablein San Diego to all Cox Communications subscribers for $10 a month. QTN’s lineup of live, original and interactive GLBT programming will be available as a premium digital channel 24 hours a day, seven days a week on channel 399. A launch party took place on Dec. 4 at restaurant and bar Aubergine downtown in conjunction with the JetSet party, a private San Diego-based group that provides alternative venues and entertainment to members within the gay and straight communities.

“The goal is first and foremost to provide the GLBT community with programming they cannot get anywhere else,” said Cory Sher, QTN director of sales and marketing for the western division. “We’re very pleased with all the progress we have made throughout the country and being made available to cable subscribers throughout the country.”

The Burbank-headquartered network launched as a premium cable television network in September 2004 and was first available in New York City, Boston and San Francisco. Now the network has expanded to several more markets, which include parts of New Jersey; Syracuse and Rochester, N.Y.; Portland, Maine; Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Chicago, Ill.; Houston, Texas; Eureka, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Lincoln, Neb.

“We are very warm and welcomed in markets that people might not think would be acceptable markets for gay programming,” Sher said, referring to Lincoln and Birmingham. He also noted that certain markets specifically requested to have QTN in their lineup, including Eureka and Birmingham.

QTN features five hours of live programming each day, along with 65-percent original programming. Many of the shows focus on interaction with people, celebrities and signature events important to the GLBT community.

“On Q Live” is a 90-minute live show that airs nightly and features celebrities, entertainers and people making a difference in the community. Show topics include the latest trends and must-haves in fashion, mind, body and spirit. Openly gay World Cup soccer player Saskia Weber is one of the hosts of the show, along with Chris Jones and Joe Bechely.

Weber will also host “On the Road to the Gay Games,” which premiers in January. She will be traveling all over the world to interview gay athletes who will be competing in Gay Games VII in Chicago this July. Q Television Network is the official network of Gay Games VII, and will televise all major competitive events both live and tape-delayed.

“It’s always new and fresh. It’s never the same shows,” Sher said. “You’ll always get something new every day when you watch Q. That’s why we decided to be subscription – so that we can be more edgy.”

“Q on the Move” was the first original show QTN developed. It’s a travel and lifestyle program that takes viewers to different cities around the world each week, highlighting various gay and lesbian hot spots, as well as cuisine, sights and more.

“The show’s an international travel show highlighting gay culture in every place we go, from fabulousness to backpacking in the Outback – a lifestyle alternative to just traditional travel, and experiencing it through activities, events, fun, happening places and people,” said host and executive producer Nick Oram.

Aside from navigating through trendy metropolitan areas in various cities, “On the Move” focuses on large-scale events. Upcoming episodes include an African safari adventure, a visit to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for New Years, the Cape Town Pride celebration in South Africa in February, Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras in Australia and Aspen Gay and Lesbian Ski Week in Colorado, Oram said.

The show also reports from various Pride celebrations throughout the country each summer, as well as from other signature gay events like the White Party in Palm Springs and the Winter Party in Miami, Fla.

A news show called “QTN World News” airs Monday through Friday at 4:00 p.m. and is broadcast from QTN studios in Hollywood. The program delivers news from correspondents around the globe and features live, in-depth interviews on politics, current events, business and technology, and how these topics relate to the GLBT community.

“On Topic,” hosted by Chrisanne Eastwood, is a cross between “Larry King Live” and “The O’Reilly Factor,” discussing political and other controversial topics, with viewer interaction. One recent guest on the show was a lesbian who was banned from going to her high school prom because she wanted to bring her girlfriend, Sher said.

QTN also offers movies, documentaries and other original series in addition to its live and news-oriented programming.

“We want to be the gay HBO meets the gay CNN,” Sher said. “We’re original series and movies and documentaries, but we’re also news and information and sports all mixed in – all wrapped into one.”

QTN is advertising supported, running commercials on a frequency of eight minutes per hour.

“The reason why is we felt it was good from an advertising standpoint to show the gay community what advertisers both locally and nationally are gay friendly,” said Sher, who said that many corporations have developed gay-themed commercials that have not been viewed by the majority of the public.

“It’s really a way to expose everybody to who’s friendly and who’s out there supporting the gay community,” he said.