Bellamy Launching Surf Channel

New Surf Channel will air series, films, events

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/3/2012 5:00:00 PM

It's not easy to say goodbye to summer, and thanks to a new network, viewers can revel in the sand and surf year-round.

Steve Bellamy, who founded Tennis Channel and Ski Channel, this fall will launch Surf Channel, his third single-sport network.

"Surf, its lifestyle and environment, create an unparalleled canvas for a television network," says Bellamy. "The Surf Channel will be a sports channel, travel channel and lifestyle channel all in one."

Surf Channel will launch mid-September in 20 million U.S. households on Comcast, Cox, DirecTV and Dish Network systems. The net's programming slate will be announced later, but it will kick off, appropriately enough, with the classic surf movie The Endless Summer. The network's lineup will also include original series, events, films and short-form programming.

Surf Channel has also inked a preferred partnership with YouTube for the surf category and will build a separate slate of content for that platform.

"[Viewers] will get to see some of the most incredible athletes pushing the human spirit and the boundaries of human capability to the furthest of limits," says Bellamy.