_unmodified_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Type | Religious broadcasting |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Broadcast area | Nationwide Worldwide |
| Affiliates | List of Daystar stations |
| Headquarters | Bedford, Texas |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (downscaled to480i/576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Word of God Fellowship |
| Key people | Joni Lamb Jonathan Lamb |
| History | |
| Founded | 1993; 32 years ago (1993) |
| Launched | December 31, 1997 (27 years ago) (1997-12-31) |
| Founder | Marcus andJoni Lamb |
| Links | |
| Website | www.daystar.com |
TheDaystar Television Network commonly known asDaystar Television or justDaystar, is an American evangelicalChristian-basedreligioustelevision network owned by the Word of God Fellowship, founded byMarcus Lamb in 1993. Daystar is headquartered in theDallas/Fort Worth Metroplex inBedford, Texas.[1] The network is based aroundprosperity theology.
In 1984,Marcus andJoni Lamb (née Trammell) moved toMontgomery,Alabama to launch the state's first full-power Christian television station,WMCF-TV. The Lambs built the station for the next five years, and sold it in 1990. They next moved toDallas,Texas, where, in 1993, they purchased the formerly defunctKMPX. In 1996, with a large contribution fromKenneth Copeland Ministries, the Lambs purchased a station inColorado, officially turning their television ministry into a network. In August 1997, the small staff moved into a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) facility that included production studios; Daystar was officially launched onNew Year's Eve 1997.[2][3]
On March 21, 2011, Daystar announced that it would downsize its production studios inAshland, Kentucky;Houston, Texas; andDenver, Colorado, effective the following month; the facilities would continue to be used as transmitters, but not broadcasting centers, leading to layoffs. Further studios were abandoned and centralized to the network'sBedford, Texas headquarters with the 2019 repeal of the FCC's Main Studio Rule.
On November 30, 2021, Marcus Lamb died after being hospitalized withCOVID-19.[4]
In 2003, Daystar was investigated by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC), centering on allegations that Daystar sold air time on itsnon-commercial educational stations to for-profit groups. The investigation complicated Daystar'sUS$21.5 million bid forKOCE-TV, aPBS station inHuntington Beach, California which at the time mainly served the suburban area ofOrange County,[5][6] and other license renewals. After a lengthy process, Daystar and KOCE-TV eventually came to an agreement where Daystar leased adigital subchannel of KOCE, and broadcast network programming over KOCE-DT3 into Orange County and theLos Angeles area. This agreement has remained in place into the early 2020s, with KOCE since becoming the flagship Los Angeles area member station of PBS in January 2011, replacingKCET after that station defected from the network (the groups eventually merged, with KCET re-joining PBS secondarily).
On December 22, 2008, the FCC and Daystar entered into an agreement whereby Daystar would continue to utilize a multi-level review process to make sure its programming would not breach theunderwriting spot guidelines applied by the FCC to non-commercial television stations, and would make additionalgood faith efforts to review all content received from external providers and remove directcalls for action before broadcasting the programming on Daystar's non-commercial educational stations. Daystar also agreed to pay a fine of $17,500 for past non-compliance.[7]
On March 13, 2012, the FCC questioned whether Daystar, through associated nonprofit companies, was qualified to purchase former PBS outlets KWBU-TV inWaco, Texas (which was renamedKDYW) and WMFE-TV inOrlando, Florida.[8] The WMFE deal was canceled two days later; the station was later resold and returned to PBS asWUCF-TV.[9] On September 7, 2012, KDYW's licensee, the Brazos Valley Broadcasting Foundation, informed the FCC that it would request the dismissal of the license assignment application and the cancellation of the KDYW license, with the cancellation becoming final on September 27.[10]
Daystar became the first foreign Christian network to be given a broadcast license by the Israeli government in 2006. The announcement was criticized byJewish leaders in both Israel and the United States, who believed the network aimed at converting Israeli Jews through its numerousMessianic Jewish programs. In 2007, Israeli cable providerHOT announced it would drop Daystar from its lineup, stating that the decision was made after the company received complaints about Daystar's content. Daystar filed a petition with theIsraeli Supreme Court to hear the case, accusing HOT ofreligious discrimination.[11] Two years later, HOT reversed its decision and resumed carrying Daystar.[12]
On November 30, 2010, Marcus Lamb appeared onCelebration and admitted to having had anextramarital affair several years before,[13] telling viewers that unidentified individuals had attempted toextort money from him over the incident. He said that he had since reconciled with Joni over the matter; the Lambs subsequently appeared onGood Morning America andDr. Phil to discuss their experiences with marriage counseling.[14]
Lamb's confession sparked a series of legal actions against Daystar. Former Daystar executive Jeanette Hawkins filed a lawsuit against the network, claiming that her knowledge of the affair caused "great emotional pain".[15] In February 2011, Jennifer Falcon, a former Daystar employee, filed a lawsuit claiming to have sufferedsexual harassment, as well as demotion anddefamation by the Lambs.[16] The following month, Karen Thompson, a former producer forJoni, sued Daystar forwrongful termination, claiming to have been harassed and fired for dating a male co-worker.[17]
An October 2011 decision, entered after a contested hearing by a Dallas court, dismissed the Hawkins fraud claim. All of the suits were withdrawn two months later when Falcon and Thompson withdrew their suit against the network, and no parties received compensation for the dispute.[18]
Word of God Fellowship applied for aPaycheck Protection Program loan and received $3.9 million, under the reasoning of meeting employeepayroll. Two weeks later, WoGF purchased a luxury 1997Gulfstream V jet.Inside Edition questioned in an investigation if the organization had used the PPP loan funds to purchase the aircraft rather than for payroll purposes. Shortly after the report aired, the loan was paid back with interest.[19][20]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Daystar was criticized for airing several programs which featured prominentanti-vaccine personalities such asRobert F. Kennedy Jr.,Del Bigtree, andSimone Gold, who along with Daystar hosts promotedmisinformation about the pandemic.[21] In their broadcasts, Marcus and Joni Lamb repeatedly touted discredited COVID-19 treatments such ashydroxychloroquine andivermectin; both contracted COVID-19 despite these treatments, with Marcus Lamb dying from COVID-related complications in November 2021. Daystar had also filed a lawsuit against theBiden administration over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, calling it a "sin against God's Holy Word".[22]
In October 2021, Australian pay television companyFoxtel, which offers Daystar as part of its channel package, announced that it was conducting a review after receiving complaints about Daystar programs featuring interviews promoting conspiracy theories about, and unproven treatments for, COVID-19.[23] The review subsequently found that Daystar did not breach any industry codes of practice for news and current affairs programs, or any federal or state law. Although theAustralian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued a Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation for online platforms, this does not include television broadcasters.[24]
In late November 2024, Jonathan Lamb, son of Daystar founders Marcus & Joni Lamb, and his wife Suzy went on social media and disclosed that their daughter had been molested by a man identified only under the pseudonym of "Pete." They said that when the incident was reported along with a later incident in which "Pete" was found nude with their daughter, Marcus and Joni Lamb allegedly covered up the abuse.[25] Suzy Lamb made a separate allegation that she had been sexually assaulted by an unlicensed chiropractor hired by her in-laws[26] and that Jonathan had been fired after refusing to sign anon-disclosure agreement. On November 26, Joni Lamb issued a response charging that Jonathan was dismissed following a poor performance review and accusing the younger Lambs of "fabricating a smear campaign".[27]
Daystar is available onbroadcast andcable television in the United States and worldwide ondirect broadcast satellite systems such asDirecTV andDish Network, and unencrypted satellite. The network is composed of twoVHF and 37UHFtelevision stations, which each broadcast all or part of Daystar's program lineup. Daystar owns a number of television stations in the U.S., either directly or through its parent company, Word of God Fellowship, Inc. The network also offersSpanish language translation of most programming via thesecond audio program, which is sometimes offered by some pay television providers as its own network.
On June 13, 2013, Daystar entered into a strategic partnership with Canadian-based religious networkGrace TV, in which the network's non-Canadian content (constituting 65% of programming) would be supplied by Daystar. Additionally, Daystar picked upYou Are Loved, a program hosted by Grace TV's CEO,Peter Youngren.[28] The network ultimately re-branded as Daystar Canada.[29]
Daystar's HD service is available in the UK via theAstra 2G satellite as part of theSky andFreesat platforms[30] and via terrestrial TV on theFreeview platform.[31]
