The Church of Scientology has announced the launch of its own television network, which will go on the air on DirecTV and several OTT services Monday.
“It’s TIME for us to tell OUR story…” reads a tweet from the new network, titled ScientologyTV. The tweet includes a promotional video that says, “The only thing more interesting than what you’ve heard…is what you haven’t.”
three, two, one…HELLO WORLD, and greetings from Scientology Media Productions in Hollywood, CA!
It’s TIME for us to tell OUR story…
WELCOME to the SCIENTOLOGY NETWORK countdown to launch! pic.twitter.com/PCPaaW9M7c
— Scientology Network (@ScientologyTV) March 11, 2018
The network will be available on AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Google Chromecast, with an app for the network already available for download on the App Store. The announcement comes two years after the church announced the start of its own studio, Scientology Media Productions.
Shows promised on the network by the app’s webpage include “Meet a Scientologist” and “L. Ron Hubbard: In His Own Words.” The channel will go live at 8 p.m. ET on Monday.
The launch comes as Scientology faces increased scrutiny in recent years. “King of Queens” star Leah Remini recently has had two seasons of an A&E expose series about her experience in the church as a former member called “Scientology and the Aftermath.”
In 2015, director Alex Gibney made a documentary adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s best-selling book “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief,” which won a Peabody Award and three Emmys.
The precinct where the Church of Scientology’s headquarters is located was one of only seven precincts out of the 1,700 in Los Angeles that went to Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
During the campaign, Trump promised to “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, which requires that nonprofit groups and religious organizations remain non-political to maintain their tax-exempt status.