The Inspiration Network (INSP)
INSP - The Inspiration Network | |
Type | cable television network |
---|---|
Branding | INSP - The Inspiration Network |
Country | United States |
Availability | United States, worldwide |
Founder | Jim Bakker Tammy Faye Bakker Messner |
Owner | The Inspiration Networks |
Key people | Morris Cerullo David Cerullo |
Launch date | 1978 (as "PTL") 1990 (relaunch as "INSP") |
Website | The Inspiration Network (INSP) |
INSP - The Inspiration Network is a Christian television network headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The channel came out of the "Praise The Lord" (PTL) Television Network (also known as PTL - The Inspirational Network), founded in the late-1970s by Jim Bakker, a televangelist notable for his daily Christian variety program, The PTL Club. In 1990, following Bakker's scandalous fall from grace that had bankrupted the PTL ministry and Heritage USA, televangelist Morris Cerullo and his son, David, acquired the network and rebranded it "The New Inspirational Network", later becoming simply "INSP - The Inspirational Network" and today known as "INSP - The Inspiration Network". They also relocated the facilities from Heritage USA in Fort Mill, South Carolina to a newly constructed production studio and headquarters in a business park a few miles away just over the state line in Charlotte.
INSP, a flagship service of The Inspiration Networks, features family value-based programming, with programs from more than 70 different ministries representing more than 20 different denominations, plus original programming for children, teens, and families.
Plans were recently announced in late 2005 for the construction of the City of Light, a new broadcast facility and ministry campus/headquarters in Lancaster County, South Carolina.
Programs Produced by or for INSP
- Inspiration Today, a daily teaching program hosted by David and Barbara Cerullo.
- I-Gospel: Showcases live performances by popular Christian music artists.
- Gospel Music Southern Style: Features live performances of Southern Gospel music artists, recorded at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Christian Artists Talent Search (C.A.T.S.): A nationwide Christian talent search for new, rising music artists, along the same lines as Star Search and American Idol; 64 finalists compete over a 24-week period.
- Discovery Jones Expeditions: A fast-paced, educational half-hour program for kids 4-10, featuring adventures like hang-gliding at Kitty Hawk and visiting an alligator handler in the swamps of Louisiana.
- Steelroots Television: A program featuring extreme sports, plus hardcore, punk, and hip-hop music, all with a Christian slant.
- Everyday Woman: A weekly program on Christian issues affecting women, hosted by Becky Cerullo Henderson and Barbara Cerullo.
- Inside Inspiration: A look behind the scenes at The Inspiration Network.
- Specials such as Inspiration Groundbreakers, Hope for the Holidays and America: Stand for Righteousness.