GunTV aims to spread firearms knowledge in an ‘entertaining, convenient format’

With gun sales recently reaching record highs in the United States, a new home-shopping channel is betting on consumers’ desire for firearms.

GunTV launched its firearms sales channel Friday, offering a six-hour overnight block of programing akin to that of QVC or the Home Shopping Network - but minus the jewelry or home goods. Instead, programming is focused exclusively on guns and related products.

“We’re filling a need for manufacturers who have been selling their products the same way, primarily through print,” said GunTV founder Valerie Castle.

Unlike traditional home-shopping channels however, consumers won’t receive any purchased firearms through direct mail. Instead products will be shipped to federal firearms licensees - specifically gun stores that GunTV has vetted - in a city chosen by the buyer. Background checks and other paperwork will be completed at the brick-and-mortar gun store, which Ms. Castle said will profit from the sale of the firearm just as if a customer walked in off the street.

Rather than profiting directly from the sales of firearms, GunTV, which Ms. Castle said was privately funded by four individual investors, hopes to make a profit off the hour-long sales segments paid for by the various gun manufacturers whose products will be featured.

In one segment shown during the premiere launch, rodeo competitor Carly Twisselman made the sales pitch for a Taurus 9mm pistol.

Describing herself as a firearms owner familiar with primarily rifles and shotguns, Ms. Twisselman raved about how little the pistol weighed as she handled it in studio.

“It’s nice, sleek and lightweight, and something you can trust,” she said.

Additional segments show Ms. Twisselman clad in black at an outdoor range shooting targets with the gun.

“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “If I can do it then you can do it.”

GunTV had initially been scheduled to air in January, but final touches including the finalization of vendor agreements and obtaining insurance delayed the start date.

“Any time we are contracting outside the firearms industry, for liability insurance, has been a hugely challenging task for us because of the nature of the content,” Ms. Castle said. “It just took exponentially longer.”

The announcement of GunTV’s launch initially made waves in the wake of December’s terrorist-inspired mass shooting in San Bernardino, California - located approximately 50 miles from the Thousand Palms, California television studio where the channel films its segments.

Ms. Castle acknowledged a channel devoted to firearms “is an emotional issue for people” but she noted that each hour segment will have public service announcements dedicated to gun safety and that hosts will also stress safety throughout the segments.

“Our programming speaks for itself and they can witness the contributions that we are making to the conversation,” she said.

A block of PSAs on gun safety featured during GunTV’s initial launch Friday included a group of cartoon birds engaged in song, who warned children not to touch a firearm if they found one and instead to tell an adult.

For now, GunTV airs seven days a week between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. EST but founders hope to expand segments to 12 hours within the first year and eventually to a 24-hour format. More than 50 channels across the country are currently carrying the broadcast, but segments are also airing 24/7 on the GunTV website.

Gun store owners have previously expressed skepticism that the launch of the channel will drum up new business.

Asked why consumers might prefer to buy a firearm online rather than in a store, which they will eventually have to visit to pick up their purchase, Ms. Castle said she thinks buyers will appreciate being able to learn about the products in the comfort of their own home.

“For some people, potentially more female than male, walking into a gun store can maybe be intimidating,” she said. “It’s television. It’s sight, sound, motion. They get a very in-depth look and they get to experience that in an entertaining, convenient format.”