RLTV

"The fastest-growing and wealthiest segment of the population has been ignored or forgotten by Hollywood’s broadcast and cable networks," reports Joe Flint in the Los Angeles Times (1/22/12). That segment would be "senior citizens," and John Erickson hopes to change their world with "a cable channel designed for the AARP-adjacent." John "made his fortune building large retirement communities," and got the idea for a seniors-specific television after building TV studios for residents and noticing how engaged they became in programming their own television station.

"What amazed me was the interest level of the residents in their own lives and how much attention they paid to this little television channel," he says. And so he developed RLTV (originally Retirement Living TV but now known as Re-define Life TV) and "bought a block of afternoon time on a few Comcast systems in the Northeast," as well as time on DirecTV along with some other distributors. He’s also recruited some familiar former network-television stars such as Joan Lunden (61) and Sam Donaldson (77) as well as Florence Hendersen (also 77!) to host shows.

Most of RLTV’s programming focused on healthcare, finance, politics and travel, although programming chief Elliot Jacobson hopes to launch a boomer version of American Idol soon, too. "It’s important for us to be advocates for the demographic we serve," he says. Senior power "can’t be ignored. According to the 2010 census, there are more than 99 million Americans older than 50. The over-50s are also one of the fastest growing groups on Facebook … And they have money. The AARP, citing information from the US Consumer Expenditure Survey, says adults over 50 spent $2.7 trillion on consumer goods in 2010."