GunTV shopping channel to start its shows in January

[Pete123]

GunTV shopping channel to start its shows in January

USA TODAY NETWORKBrett Kelman and Xochitl Pena, The (Palm Springs, Calif.) Desert Sun8:23 p.m. EST November 20, 2015

(Photo: Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives)

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THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. — A new home shopping network is set to launch in January with an initial five hours of daily programming, but its controversial niche merchandise has flown under the radar until now.

The goal of GunTV, which also uses the name GTV Live Shopping, is to expand to a 24/7 lineup in its first year but will start at first with a 1 to 5 a.m. schedule that includes more than four hours of shopping opportunities.

The firearms shopping channel was envisioned to appeal to gun companies, who wanted a new venue to advertise their products, and in response to what co-founder Valerie Castle of Rancho Mirage, Calif., called a nationwide "love affair with shooting sports."

"Our business philosophy is filling the need, not creating one," she said. She and partner Doug Bornstein are a couple with professional backgrounds in shopping networks.

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Despite the polarizing debate of firearms in America, neither firearm advocates nor gun critics, reached for comment this week, were aware that GunTV was in the works. Not surprisingly, the network drew criticism from anti-gun groups, whose members argued that the shopping network will only add more firearms to a nation that already has too many.

“My gut reaction is this is the last thing we need,” said Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney of the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The national nonprofit is based in San Francisco. “When you look at the number of gun deaths in this country every day, the idea that somebody’s ‘brilliant marketing scheme’ is to get more guns into the hands of more people is just a little bit outrageous.”

“My gut reaction is this is the last thing we need.”

Laura Cutilletta, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

Craig Deluz, the communication director for the California Association of Federal FirearmsLicensees, said he was surprised that GunTV would operate in California, which has some of the nation’s strictest gun laws. But he wasn't surprised that someone would try an all-gun shopping channel.

If production is good, the channel should succeed, Deluz said.

“I would urge you to go to YouTube, and type in the name of any firearm, and see how many people are posting reviews of that weapon,” Deluz said. “You would be surprised how much video content is out there, and it’s because there is a market for it.”

GunTV appears to be modeled after existing shopping channels, like the Home Shopping Network and QVC TV, but will face more stringent restrictions. Unlike the jewelry, commemorative coins or decorative plates sold on other channels, firearms can’t be mailed across state lines or sold to just anyone.

To work within gun laws, GunTV won’t actually sell firearms directly to viewers.

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Instead, when a viewer calls GunTV, the network will place an order on behalf of that viewer with Sports South, a Louisiana firearms distributor. Sports South then will ship the weapon to a local gun store, where the viewer can purchase it as a customer would do now.

GunTV also will sell ammunition, firearm accessories and outdoor apparel.

“Our business philosophy is filling the need, not creating one.”

Valerie Castle, Rancho Mirage, Calif.

The sales process appears to adhere to the laws that regulate gun sales, said Cutilletta, the lawyer from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. She said she found some relief in the fact that gun stores still would be conducting background checks and record-keeping required by law.

However, Cutilletta still argued that GunTV was trivializing the sale of firearms.

“Buying a gun is a serious decision,” she said. “If you are going to buy a gun for your home, it’s not a decision you should be making at 3 in the morning because you are watching TV.”

GunTV appears to have prepared for criticism like this, branding itself as a company focused on firearm safety before firearm sales. The channel's parent company is called the Social Responsibility Network, and a GunTV promotional video posted online begins by saying the channel will address the nationwide need for “education, information and safety regarding firearms commerce.”

Castle, the GunTV co-founder, insisted the network's 24-hour format would allow viewers a deeper understanding of the weapons they purchase. She added that in every hour of programming 3 minutes will be dedicated to firearm education and safety training.

"People are super busy, and if they can tune into our content at a time when they are not in the throes of their busy day and really sit and pay attention to how to safely use the product and store it as well as get the back story of the product, ... you are going to get way more information about that product," Castle said.

GunTV already has hired about 30 people and is looking for more, she said. Several open positions now are posted online, including a prop specialist, also known as a “gun wrangler.”

GunTV also expects to partner with a firing range in the area because hosts and guests cannot fire guns in its Thousand Palms studio, Castle said. The studio, formerly known as the Palm Springs Film Factory, was designed with a cooking show or commercials in mind.

A GunTV media kit, available online for potential advertisers, describes the network as similar to iTunes — but for guns.

 

 

[Dolomite_supafly]

Not sure I would support any gun company based in California.

[MrsMonkeyMan2500]

Not sure I would support any gun company based in California.

It could just be where they air from. HQ could be set up anywhere. It also sounds kinda weird.

[TrickyNicky]

I'd go out of my way to support a gun company from Ca providing their pricing was in line with the rest of the country and not grossly inflated like most of the shops.

[Oh Shoot]

Not sure I would support any gun company based in California.

 

Well, that is just broadcast home -- as story mentions, actual distributor is Sports South. I think it's uber nifty that it would be done from Kali, take that, Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer, et al. the rest of the grabbers.

 

- OS

Edited November 22, 2015 by Oh Shoot

[Pete123]

Well, that is just broadcast home -- as story mentions, actual distributor is Sports South. I think it's uber nifty that it would be done from Kali, take that, Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer, et al. the rest of the grabbers.

 

- OS

 

My thought as well - I'm all for it as long as it irritates the irrational liberals in California.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Well yeah, I guess making it a success just to stick it to those in California is a good thing.

[DaveTN]

Here are my questions for those that may know.

It appears to me the big issue in buying guns is inventory? The price of used guns is near that of new; (The only reasons that can happen is because new guns aren’t available, the buyers can’t pass a background check and will pay more, or the buyers don’t want a record of the transaction.) so I mostly just buy new anymore. I want to buy locally, but usually can’t. Either they don’t have what I want and tell me they can order it but have no idea when or if they will get it, or their price is much too high. On a $500 gun I’ll pay $30 or $40 more to buy it locally (although there is no reason for the extra cost to be there) but I won’t pay the $100 or more some of them want.

Isn’t there a level of cost that doesn’t need to be there? Why do Distributors need to be involved; that adds no value to us, the end users? Will this TV show be able to get guns? And if manufactures need to move more product; why don’t they ship directly to the local FFl’s? That way the local FFL could place an order and have a projected shipment date instead of tying the hands of the FFL by making them go through a distributor that really doesn’t want to mess with that.

I don’t need to see and touch a gun to buy it so I hope this TV show works out. If they have the guns I want and the best prices; I will order.

However, I wish my local shop could get inventory and be price competitive. I don’t think they will be able to stay in business doing transfers; but I could be wrong.

1AM to 5AM? Thank goodness for DVR. I hope you can order the next day.

[Oh Shoot]

....
Isn’t there a level of cost that doesn’t need to be there? Why do Distributors need to be involved; that adds no value to us, the end users? ..

 

I would imagine that gun manufacturers want to be gun manufacturers, and for the most part don't care about all the added complexities involved with actually getting each individual firearm distributed to 125,000+ FFLs in the country before they get paid. Having a distributor network means they dump the guns en masse, with just a relatively few paychecks and paperwork involved in the whole thing, smaller sales and shipping depts, all kinds of stuff.

 

Makes sense to me. If you made something that netted you X amount in total, wouldn't it nifty to make that by only having to deal with say 25 customers rather than 100,000? Especially when there's legal federal paperwork and serial number database to keep up with on each transaction?

 

As always, middlemen make their nut by dealing with the minutiae that you'd rather not.

 

- OS

Edited November 22, 2015 by Oh Shoot