David Miscavige Ushers in New Religious Broadcast Era with Scientology Network Launch

Ecclesiastical leader reveals new channel will show Church of Scientology to the world and answer questions for the curious.

At 8 p.m. EST on March 12, 2018, the Scientology Network went live with the flip of a switch, making it instantly accessible to tens of millions of households across the United States and hundreds of millions more worldwide over the internet. From the three-story atrium of Church’s landmark Flag Building at its spiritual home in Clearwater, Florida, Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, welcomed the world to the network to explain its mission.

“You’ve probably heard of Scientology,” Mr. Miscavige stated. “In fact, every six seconds someone searches the question, ‘What is Scientology?’ There’s a lot of talk about us, and we get it. People are curious. Well, we want to answer your questions, because, frankly, whatever you have heard, if you haven’t heard it from us, I can assure you, we are not what you expect.”

Mr. Miscavige described to the audience watching on TV screens, computers and mobile devices worldwide the purpose of the new Scientology Network: let viewers see and experience the religion for themselves—who Scientologists are, what Scientology is and what Scientology can do—as told by Scientologists, themselves, around the world. “Scientology is a dynamic and expanding religion, and we’re going to be showing you all of it.”

Mr. Miscavige continued: “Let’s be clear, we’re not here to preach to you, to convince you or to convert you. No, we simply want to show you. Because, after all, the first principle of Scientology is that ‘It’s only true if it is true for you.’”

Airing 24/7 on all platforms, the Scientology Network represents a new genre of religious broadcasting that includes original programs that take viewers into the everyday lives of Scientologists, the Church as an institution and its humanitarian and social betterment organizations. These programs show Scientology in action, providing not just insights into the only major religion to emerge in the last century, but also offering a fresh take on compelling television entertainment demanded by today’s digital world.

The Scientology Network is immediately available anywhere, anytime. It’s on satellite TV in the United States, as well as live streaming everywhere at Scientology.tv. It’s also available on such streaming services as Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and mobile apps that can be downloaded for smartphones and tablets. And it will continue to expand through additional platforms in the future.

NETWORK LAUNCHES WITH SIX ORIGINAL SERIES

The Scientology Network debuts with six original series:

• Inside Scientology—takes viewers behind the scenes of the religion—its international spiritual headquarters and cutting-edge publishing houses, what happens on a typical day at a Church of Scientology and the meticulous, painstaking efforts to preserve 75 million words of Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s religious writings and recordings for future generations.
• Meet a Scientologist—an in-depth look into the lives of individual Scientologists from the frontiers of modern art, science, sports, entertainment and more.
• I am a Scientologist—features dozens of Scientologists from every corner of the world and every imaginable occupation, giving personal accounts of how their lives have been enriched.
• Voices for Humanity—short documentaries introducing change-makers from all faiths, cultures and nations as they extend help to their communities through Scientology-sponsored humanitarian programs.
• Destination: Scientology—each episode brings the viewer inside a new Church of Scientology, showcasing the diversity of our Churches and the cooperation that weaves every Church of Scientology into the local community fabric.
• L. Ron Hubbard: in His Own Voice—presents the religion’s Founder to the world. Scientology remains the only major religion with the voice of its Founder intact, recorded in public lectures delivered over the course of a quarter-century. This series chronicles the life of L. Ron Hubbard through autobiographical vignettes in his own words and in his own voice.

In addition, the Scientology Network will also present films on the beliefs and practices of the religion, airing the content to answer questions about faith, philosophy and technology. They include content ranging from the basic tenets of Scientology and how to apply Scientology to the workaday world to the practical tools for life that the religion provides.

Works from Founder L. Ron Hubbard’s groundbreaking writings will also be featured, illuminating his philosophy, the history of the religion and his landmark moral code and common-sense guide, The Way to Happiness, that can be universally applied to anyone regardless of religion or cultural background. The Church’s humanitarian movement will also take center stage on the Scientology Network, underscoring the Church’s global success in drug education through The Truth About Drugs, its worldwide human rights campaigns and successes in exposing mental health abuses through the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, a global advocacy group that seeks justice for victims of psychiatric wrongdoing.

New offerings will also include entertainment and talk shows, as well as an investigative series, Freedom TV. The Scientology Network will further provide a platform for broadcasting documentaries by independent filmmakers advocating social betterment and human rights to give them a voice where they might not otherwise have one across the airwaves.

SCIENTOLOGY MEDIA PRODUCTIONS: A 21^ST-CENTURY, FULLY INTEGRATED STUDIO IN THE HEART OF HOLLYWOOD

The Scientology Network produces all its television content in house. Original programs air with no paid advertising. From scripting to shooting, editing, scoring and mixing, these original shows are created by Church staff and parishioners at the Church’s multimedia digital production complex at Scientology Media Productions. Additionally, Scientology Media Productions is provided and broadcasts all long-form, full-length films produced at the Church’s Golden Era Productions, which has been producing Scientology films for 40 years. In all, the network is fed up-to-the-minute content, 24/7, from six continents through 20 roving correspondent teams based across the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Australia, Russia, Asia as well as the United States and Canada.

Housed on a five-acre complex on LA’s iconic Sunset Boulevard, Scientology Media Productions dates to 1912, making it the longest continuously running studio in Hollywood. Purchased from public television station KCET in 2011, the studio lot had its origins making silent movies before evolving into film and television production. It also was the site where, prior to the advent of Dianetics and Scientology, Mr. Hubbard once had an office where he wrote Hollywood scripts.

The studio houses multiple production crews working three sound stages, 136,000 square feet of studio production space,16 high-definition broadcast cameras with three production control rooms, 20 editing suites, six voice recording studios, four music scoring rooms, two live music recording studios, seven mixing rooms with 5.1 surround sound capabilities, all wired through 27 miles of fiber optic cable.

With the establishment of Scientology Media Productions, the Church has entered a new era of multimedia production by giving birth to a new television network that fulfills the dream of its founder to make the religion fully available across the planet.