The first ever Catholic television station on the Internet launched Sept. 1. Called RealCatholic TV.com, the site offers Catholic programming, including daily news, political commentary, and features on saints and history.

“Instead of broadcasting, which is what traditional TV stations have done, we are broadband casting,” Michael Voris, senior executive producer of RealCatholicTV.com, said by telephone.

“The distinction,” he said, “is that while we have daily programming, here you can watch those shows at any time you’d like to on your computer.”
Today, in addition to watching television programming on one’s TV screen, one can also view DVDs and play video games. In the near future, Voris said, Internet programming will be viewable on one’s TV screen.

“That’s not what we’re doing now,” he cautioned. “Right now we’re just on the Internet.”

But once users do have the option to see Web content on their TV, Voris said, RealCatholicTV.com will already be set for viewing.

“It will always be on the Internet,” he said, “but in a year maybe you’ll watch it on the TV screen. It will be a convenience … I can sit in my lounge chair and see my Internet.”

Seventy-seven percent of Americans use the Internet, and since 2004, according to RealCatholicTV.com, the amount of time spent on the Internet has surpassed the time spent watching TV in the United States.
The RealCatholicTV producers say they want to use the new media for the new evangelization.

“Catholics have lost a sense of identity about what it means to be a Catholic,” Voris said. “This is an effort to reestablish that identity with an authentic Catholicism, not a watered down cafeteria-Catholicism. This is very loyal to the magisterium of the Church but presented in the new media in a professional, modern way.”

One feature, called “The Shepherd’s Voice,” offers 90-second to two-minute videos of bishops addressing a variety of topics. In his piece, Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., talks about the separation of church and state, freedom of religion and the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“We’re very happy that Archbishop Chaput is one of our lead-off prelates,” Voris said. “’The Shepherd’s Voice’ is a way for Catholic bishops to circumvent the mainstream media and go straight to the flock.”
“The whole flock,” added Voris’ partner Marc Brammer. “Not just the flock that comes to Sunday Mass. They will get to hear the message unfiltered and uncensored.”

According to its mission statement, RealCatholicTV.com aims to convert non-Catholics and to strengthen the faith of existing Catholics. By evangelizing and catechizing on the Internet in a TV format, the producers believe they can foster a Catholic culture in unique ways, among them by providing high quality videos—such as ‘The Shepherd’s Voice’ shorts—that can be easily shared with others, particularly via e-mail.
“It not only becomes a resource for the subscriber for their own intellect and edification, it also becomes a resource to send to someone else so that process can begin for them, too,” Voris said. “It is the tool for the new evangelization. The new evangelization needs a new medium and this is it.”

While much of RealCatholicTV.com’s content is free to any Internet viewer, additional programming is available for a $10 a month fee. That programming includes a show called “The Other View,” which features five females discussing women’s issues through the lens of the Catholic faith; “The One True Faith,” hosted by Voris, focuses on apologetics; and “Critics Corner” offers film, book and art reviews.

“The programming lasts from 15 minutes to an hour and there’s about 120 hours of programming combined,” Voris said.

Although the programming seeks to appeal to all age groups, RealCatholicTV is expected to draw a younger audience than does EWTN, the producers said, as studies show the majority of people under 30 now use the Internet for their news, information and entertainment.
“We’re part of the sea change that’s going to take place,” said Brammer.