Revelation TV is a
UK Protestant
Christian television channel started by Howard and Lesley Conder in 2003. It broadcasts on
Freesat
Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Digital UK. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. Free ...
channel 692,
Freeview HD
Freeview is the United Kingdom's sole digital terrestrial television platform. It is operated by Digital UK Ltd and DTV Services Ltd, a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. It was launched on 30 October 2002, t ...
channel 264,
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
channel 581, the
Roku
Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services.
The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduced ...
box and is also available online on iOS and Android devices, Apple TV, Samsung and LG Smart TVs. The channel is based in Spain, with a small studio and office in England.
History
Howard Conder (an ex-
Jehovah's Witness
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
) and his wife Lesley began the TV station in 2003 by forming a private company and remortgaging their home to put their own money into it. They built trust with their viewership and know their most ardent viewers by name.
Between 2004 and 2014, the station was censured five times by
Ofcom, for
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
comments made on air, and for graphic depiction of
aborted fetuses in an item aired before a children's programme.
In a 2007 interview with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', Howard Conder said that the regulator
Ofcom had received complaints from viewers about the channel's views of homosexuality.
In 2007, following the lifting of
Ofcom restrictions, the channel was allowed to ask for funds on air.
["Television evangelists given blessing to pass collection plate round viewers"](_blank)
Times Online. Article dated 2007-01-22. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
On 10 February 2010, American evangelist Justin Peters was interviewed live on Revelation TV. Peters is an outspoken critic of the
Word of Faith
Word of Faith is a movement within charismatic Christianity which teaches that Christians can get power and financial prosperity through prayer, and that those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection have the right to physical health. The ...
movement and, during the interview, mentioned several prominent proponents of this doctrine by name such as
Benny Hinn
Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn (born 3 December 1952) is an Israeli Christian televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades"— revival meeting or faith healing summits that are usually held in stadiums in major cities, which are ...
,
Creflo Dollar
Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr., (born January 28, 1962) is an American pastor, televangelist, and the founder of the non-denominational Christian World Changers Church International based in College Park, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. Dollar also he ...
and
Kenneth Copeland
Kenneth Max Copeland (born December 6, 1936) is an American televangelist associated with the charismatic movement. The organization he founded in 1967, Eagle Mountain International Church Inc. (EMIC), is based in Tarrant County, Texas. Copelan ...
. The programme was taken off-air before its scheduled end time, due to concerns that making accusations against specific individuals who were not present breached
Ofcom rules on fairness. Lesley Conder criticised Peters the following morning, but the incident was widely discussed online.
On 1 December 2011 evangelist and preacher Jacob Prasch announced on his website that he had left Revelation TV after the channel began broadcasting a weekly
Jesse Duplantis show. Prasch accused Duplantis of being a heterodox preacher of the
Word of Faith
Word of Faith is a movement within charismatic Christianity which teaches that Christians can get power and financial prosperity through prayer, and that those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection have the right to physical health. The ...
doctrine. Presenter Bob Mitchell subsequently also left, and Prophetic Witness Movement International also pulled out of the station.
The channel moved to Spain in 2010.
[ As of 2012, Revelation TV had a permanent television studio base in Spain. An underground car park space was converted into a new television studio, from which several programmes are now transmitted.
In November 2014 the Charity Commission for England and Wales said that Revelation TV was under investigation, after it identified regulatory concerns about trustees' benefits, conflicts of interest and a "potential significant loss of charitable funds".] The Revelation Foundation said it welcomed the inquiry and would cooperate fully with proceedings. On 16 June 2015, the channel released a statement which said that the Charity Commission had identified no loss or misappropriation of charitable funds by the trustees. In October 2020, the Charity Commission for England and Wales closed the enquiry into Revelation TV. Although the enquiry did find failings in the structure and governance of the Revelation Foundation (the charity behind Revelation TV) it found no evidence of mis-appropriation of funds.
From around early 2015, fundraising commenced for the purchase of land and the building of a new purpose built television studio complex for the channel in Spain, as their current studio facilities, located in an underground car park space was deemed unfit for purpose, due to the lack of studio space, office space and restrictions imposed on them by their landlord.
By March 2019, the land was bought, and construction of the new television studio and complex nearing completion with final fitting out work being completed to install cameras, sound and other equipment. The new complex is expected to house three new studios, one of which will be a dedicated music studio. The full completion of the new studio complex was expected to be made by the end of 2019 or early 2020.
British politician Nigel Farage
Nigel Paul Farage (; born 3 April 1964) is a British broadcaster and former politician who was Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Brexit Party (renamed Reform UK in 2021) from 2 ...
was interviewed on Revelation TV in November 2019. He talked about "globalists" and a "new world order".
Genesis TV
Another channel, Genesis TV, was formerly broadcast on Sky channel 592. It used to play much of the same content from RMusicTV, and a music show, ''The One to One Show'', produced and hosted by presenter Michael Owusu. In February 2010 a Genesis TV presenter read off a message from a prankster who called himself 'Repmykipz', which claimed to be a story of salvation, but was merely an adaptation of the theme song of the American sitcom ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...
''. The presenter then went to another message from the same person consisting of the plot of '' Star Wars''. A posting of the prank on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
went viral and as of 2015 had been viewed over one million times.
On 22 March 2010, Genesis TV allowed a debate between the leader of the British National Party
The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and its leader is Adam Walker. A minor party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK gover ...
, Nick Griffin
Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-righ ...
and the leader of the Christian Party, George Hargreaves, as the two were competing against each other for the Barking
Barking may refer to:
Places
* Barking, London, a town in East London, England
** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking
** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...
constituency in the 2010 General election. Genesis TV was closed down and merged with Revelation TV on 1 April 2010. Revelation TV later moved to Sky channel 581 after the slot was given up by GOD TV.
On 10 March 2010, the station announced that Genesis TV and Revelation TV would be merging into a single channel, to be called Revelation TV, with effect from 1 April 2010.
References
External links
Official website
Quote Jesus
a project launched by Howard Conder
"The Lord will provide... we hope"
''The Daily Telegraph''
''Christianity Today'' ccessed 8 May 2009br>"Mission to London Lights Fire Again for Thousands"
''Christianity Toda''y ccessed 8 May 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Revelation TV
2003 establishments in the United Kingdom
Christian mass media in the United Kingdom
Christian television stations
Religious television channels in the United Kingdom
Television channels and stations established in 2003
Television channels in the United Kingdom
Television stations in Spain