GARDEN GROVE – Christ Cathedral will soon become the West Coast broadcasting hub of the largest religious television network in the world that airs newscasts, theological roundtables and Mass to a potential 230 million-plus homes across 144 countries.
The Eternal World Television Network will record its first show out of the Tower of Hope on the 34-acre cathedral campus on May 13.
The network, which has programming 24 hours a day with studios worldwide, will broadcast a live interview with the Most Rev. Kevin Vann, the bishop of Orange County, and Michael P. Warsaw, the network’s chairman of the board and CEO.
The network is spending “north of $1 million” to create the studio, diocese spokesman Ryan Lilyengren said. “There is so much room on the campus that we can accommodate this stuff. There’s a lot of energy and excitement in the church right now.”
The first regular program that is planned for the Garden Grove studio is a Spanish-language news-and-commentary show called “Cara a Cara,” though a premiere date has not yet been set.
EWTN is available on several cable and satellite providers, including on Channel 370 on DirecTV and 460 on Time Warner Cable.
The 33-year-old network entered into a 10-year lease with the diocese for about $100 a year. The studio will occupy much of the eighth floor of the 13-story Tower of Hope, with a control room in the basement of the Cultural Center on campus.
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