Sarah Morgan, master control operator, answers the phone while keeping an eye on eighty plus stations Wednesday. Sky Angel Faith and Family Television, which has its corporate offices in Naples, Fla., has relocated its operations center to a facility in Collegedale.
Staff Photo by Jake Daniels/Chattanooga Times Free PressHamilton County has landed a company offering faith- and family-centered TV and radio programming that aims to triple its work force to about 200 employees in five years.
"We feel like God is bringing us here," said Sky Angel U.S. President Tom Scott, whose company spent about $500,000 in its new Collegedale operations center.
The company, which employs about 70 people, relocated from Cleveland, Tenn., after it couldn't find office space it needed to house its growing operations, he said.
Scott said Hamilton County's ultra-fast broadband link also was a factor, as well as closer proximity to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. Sky Angel's corporate headquarters is in Naples, Fla.
Sky Angel declined to reveal the number of its subscribers, but officials said the demand is there for its product, which is accessible via the Internet anywhere in the world.
While Scott said it's fighting a tough battle for viewers and listeners against heavyweights such as Comcast and Dish Network, Sky Angel attracts subscribers who don't want the sex and violence on TV.
Rick Wright, a senior vice president of sales, also cited the "bad TV" in the marketplace and termed Sky Angel an alternative.
He said the company works with a lot of churches in its marketing efforts.
"We have very good receptivity," Wright said.
While Sky Angel focuses on faith and family programming, it also offers more typical offerings such as Weather Channel, QVC, Fox News and NFL Network.
Packages start at $14.99 a month for more than 50 faith-based TV and radio channels, according to the privately held company.
Sky Angel uses an Internet television connection that goes from a subscriber's computer to a set-top box linked to the TV. Scott said the connection in the home can be made wirelessly or through an ethernet cable.
Switching delivery
The move to Internet delivery was brought about when Dish Network, from which Sky Angel had bought bandwidth, needed to replace a failing satellite, he said. Sky Angel faced $200 million to $300 million in costs, so it made a gamble about five years ago to Internet delivery, Scott said.
"We saw an opportunity to do more business on the Internet," he said.
Sky Angel, founded more than 25 years ago, shifted operations to Cleveland in 2006 to avoid Florida's hurricanes, moving into a facility in a Life Care Centers of America building.
Scott said Sky Angel continues to have a 20-acre satellite farm in Bradley County. He estimated the company had spent about $15 million there.
Ironically, the 11,500-square feet of space the company now is leasing was damaged by the tornado that touched down April 27.
Steve Jones, the facility's operations manager, said an on-site generator kicked in for the nearly 20 hours in which electricity was out.
He said the company's broadcast didn't experience "so much as a hiccup."
Scott said the company could expand in the rest of the building, about 3,500 square feet, and it has an option to build and purchase an adjacent structure.
"We think this will be a great place to grow," he said.