• June 10, 2003

The Outdoor Channel marked its 10th anniversary this week, the company said. Launched in 1993 by the Massie family, it took six years for The Outdoor Channel to reach its first 5 million subscribers. The channel gained that many viewers last year alone. It's now available through cable operators like Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Adelphia, along with DirecTV and Dish Network. Its subscriber base exceeds 23 million in the United States with a deal recently announced that will expand its audience internationally via launch in Latin America. In 2002, The Outdoor Channel reported a 36% increase in total revenues, a 27% increase in ad revenues, and a 57% increase in subscriber fees over its previous year.

"Over the last 10 years, the cable industry has come to see the value of the programming The Outdoor Channel has to offer. The odds against successfully launching a cable network and getting it to profitability are long. Our success can be attributed to the fact that traditional outdoor sports had long been underserved by the established channels until we came along, and with even fewer major outlets for the genre in existence today, The Outdoor Channel is clearly recognized as the industry leader in the outdoor lifestyle category."