• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, November 27, 2006

In today's crowded cable universe, it might take a superhuman effort to launch a new channel, but the Hero Television Network is giving it a try. While this fall's planned debut of the network targeting staunch comic-book fans has been delayed, a broadband channel goes live Dec. 1.

The network believes the Internet option will allow it to generate significant traffic figures among an estimated 16 million comic-book devotees. That, in turn, will demonstrate interest levels sufficient to bolster its standing as it negotiates with cable operators to gain carriage.

"We have dedicated fans, and once we have quality product, they will get the word out that they want to see what we have to offer," says Bryan Proctor, the net's chief creative officer and driving force. He's cobbled together $2.5 million to seed the venture.

HTN is now looking to get a VOD channel first, that will demonstrate a hungry, under-served fan base. Then it hopes to reach the end game of a linear launch, with a hoped-for 10 million subscribers by next summer.

Failure to reach agreements with MSOs delayed the launch this fall and introduced the broadband-first strategy, where distribution hurdles are nil.

The broadband outlet on herotelevisionnetwork.com will offer licensed content, both animated and live action, that includes characters such as "The Lone Ranger," "Zorro," and "He-Man."

The company continues to negotiate with the comic content powers Marvel, which has "Spider-Man," "Incredible Hulk" and "X-Men," and DC Comics, which has "Superman, "Batman" and "Wonder Woman."

Proctor says the network, which hopes to offer animated and live-action television shows as well as movies and original content--including news-style stories about upcoming comic releases and profiles of top writers and artists)--believes there is a wealth of library content that the Marvels and DC Comics of the world aren't maximizing, and a fan base eager to view it.

"The TV Land, SciFi Channel and comic-book crowd would enjoy seeing the Lynda Carter version of "Wonder Woman" on a weekly basis," he adds.

The HTN outlets will be ad-supported--Proctor believes it can effectively sell advertisers on an opportunity to reach males in the 18-to-34 demo. But the network has yet to build a sales force, preferring to focus on content acquisition and carriage negotiations.

HTN just hired a COO, Bob Schefferine, who has experience at SciFi and helped launch another one-time niche channel, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network. Lance Taylor, with programming experience at ABC and Fox, is the interim CEO.

An HTN linear channel launch next summer would coincide with the release of the "Spider-Man 3" film. Proctor believes that could create a surge of interest that would trickle down to HTN. "It gives us an advantage, because "super-heroes" are on peoples' minds."